Oct. 7, 2011
TEMPE, Ariz. - The Arizona State women's soccer team was unable to string together back-to-back conference wins as No. 19 Oregon State posted a 2-0 win over the Sun Devils on Friday night.
Oregon State sophomore forward Jenna Richardson scored a goal in each half to propel the Beavers (9-3-1, 3-1 Pac-12) to their fifth win in their last six matches.
Playing at home for the first time in nearly a month, the Sun Devils (5-7, 1-3 Pac-12) came out energized as they drew a corner kick a little more than three minutes into the contest.
ASU would have its momentum stymied in the ninth minute when Oregon State senior forward Chelsea Butler played a ball to Richardson, who got behind ASU's defense and had a one-on-one situation with Sun Devil goalkeeper Alyssa Gillmore. Richardson's shot to the near side got passed Gillmore to give the Beavers a 1-0 advantage.
The Sun Devils nearly got the equalizer in the 22nd minute when junior midfielder Aissa Sanchez got open just yards from the goal. Sanchez's attempt to place the ball in a small window of space between Beaver goalkeeper Colleen Boyd and the post fell just wide as Beaver midfielder Ashley Seal came in at the last second to disrupt Sanchez's shot.
Sanchez's attempt would prove to be ASU's best scoring opportunity of the evening as it had only one shot on goal (seven total shots).
Oregon State would put the game out of reach in the 74th minute when Richardson scored her second goal of the game to make the final count 2-0.
Both teams had seven shots and two corner kicks in what was a very physical match. Nearly 30 fouls were called in the contest with the Beavers committing more than twice as many (20-9) as the Sun Devils while also being whistled for a trio of yellow cards.
Kate Sangster and Miah Mollay tied for the team lead with two shots each on Friday night. Although they were not able to score, the Sun Devils did receive a lift on their front line from sophomore forward Devin Marshall who returned to action after missing the last seven contests because of injury.
The Sun Devils close out the weekend on Sunday when they host Oregon at 1 p.m.