Nov. 5, 2010
TEMPE, Ariz. - The Arizona State women's soccer team snapped a four-game winless streak (0-3-1) and a two-game scoring drought in a big way on Friday night, upsetting No. 17 USC 3-0 before 1,005 fans at Sun Devil Soccer Stadium.
Alexandra Elston, Josie Graybeal and Karin Volpe scored goals for the Sun Devils (9-6-3, 3-4-1 Pac-10) while goalkeeper Alyssa Gillmore was spectacular, coming up with four critical saves in the second half, eliminating any possibility of a USC (9-6-3, 3-4-1 Pac-10) rally.
"We were highly motivated," explained ASU head coach Kevin Boyd following the game. "We felt like we were backed against a corner. We knew we needed a win to try and get ourselves a high enough RPI to get into the NCAA Tournament. We also needed another win over a ranked team. This is a very good USC team. We came out with the right amount of energy. We were very focused and determined in what we needed to do. We got a little bit of luck, but that tends to happen when you are getting after it.
"The defending was outstanding today. We didn't give up anything foolish and that was important."
After failing to score a goal in its previous two games, ASU came out with plenty of energy early on. The Sun Devils created a pair of corner kick opportunities in the first four-plus minutes of play, before drawing a penalty kick in the sixth minute when a USC hand ball occurred in the penalty box. Elston took the penalty kick and was on target with her shot to give the Sun Devils 1 -0 lead.
After taking the early lead the Sun Devils would control the action for the remainder of the half as they did not allow USC to take any shots on goal while at the same time continually applying pressure on the Trojan defense.
USC attempted to offset ASU's advantage with a very physical style of play which resulted in the Trojans being whistled for nearly twice as many fouls (20-11) as the Sun Devils during the match in addition to being assessed a trio of yellow cards.
The Sun Devils would extend their lead late in the first half when redshirt sophomore forward Sierra Cook sent her corner kick directly to junior defender Kari Shane, who then whistled the ball in front of the USC goal where Graybeal was there to head it in to give ASU a 2-0 lead.
Down 2-0 the Trojans would turn their attack up a notch in the second half in an attempt to get back into the game. Finally, in the 67th minute, USC was presented with a golden opportunity to cut ASU's lead in half when an ASU hand ball in the penalty box gave USC a penalty kick of its own. However Gillmore would come through in a big-time way for the Sun Devils, denying USC senior midfielder Alyssa Davila and preserving ASU's two-goal advantage.
"[Alyssa] was spectacular in making the save," Boyd said of Gillmore's stop on the penalty kick.
Volpe would clinch the win in 70th minute when she scored her team-leading ninth goal of the season to put the Sun Devils up 3-0.
Elston's game-winning goal was the eighth of her career, which moved her into sole possession of fifth place on ASU's all-time list while Gillmore collected for fifth shutout of the season.
With the win the Sun Devils are now 5-1-1 at home this season. Combined with last season ASU is 12-2-3 in its last 17 home games.
The Sun Devils close out the regular season on Sunday when they host UCLA at 1 p.m. ASU will be honoring its five seniors - Alexandra Elston, Lindsey Johns, Jessie Richardson, Jill Shoquist and Karin Volpe - prior to Sunday's game, which will be televised live by Fox Sports Arizona.