Nov. 7, 2008
SEATTLE - Amid cool and drizzling conditions the Arizona State women's soccer team put up a gallant effort against the 24th-ranked Washington Huskies however came up short in the end. Washington junior forward Veronica Perez' rebound off her own penalty kick 50 seconds into overtime gave the Huskies a 2-1 victory over ASU on Friday night.
After playing to a 1-1 tie during the first 45 minutes of play neither squad could break through for the go-ahead goal in the second half. Less than a minute into the extra session Perez initially appeared to get tangled up with a Sun Devil defender in the penalty area; however a foul was called on ASU (8-7-4, 2-5-1 Pac-10) resulting in the subsequent penalty kick.
ASU head coach Kevin Boyd immediately subbed in back-up goalkeeper Katie Cochran to defend Perez on the penalty kick. Cochran dove to block Perez' initial offering, however a fortuitous bounce gave Perez a relatively uncontested second look which she got into the left corner of the goal for the win.
"This was an unfortunate way for the game to be decided," said Boyd. "As a whole this game was close the entire way. They had the edge in creating chances, but the [Huskies' 26-8 advantage in shots] did not accurately illustrate how close this game was.
"We were absolutely determined to win this game tonight. This team put everything it had out there and was doing everything it could to remain in the hunt for [a berth in the NCAA Tournament]. They did not deserve to have the game end like this."
While not the aggressors on paper, the Sun Devils continued with their recent opportunistic ways to strike first in the game when in the 22nd minute Alexandra Elston found Karin Volpe breaking toward the Washington goal. Volpe took Elston's pass and drilled her shot into the upper left post for her ninth goal of the season and a 1-0 ASU lead.
The Huskies (13-5-1, 4-3-1 Pac-10) evened the game in the 32nd minute when freshman Kate Deines connected on a header off a free kick from teammate Jenna Robison.
"We had an organizational error and they were able to get a goal off a set piece," explained Boyd.
Starting Sun Devil goalkeeper Briana Silvestri made four saves on the evening while Erica Long and Kari Shane tied for the team lead with two shots each.
The Sun Devils close out the regular season on Sunday in Pullman, Wash., when they take on the Washington State Cougars. Game time is set for 11 a.m. PT./Noon MT.