By Mike Sackley
The ASU women’s soccer team needed a big win over a ranked opponent to improve its resume for the NCAA tournament.
And that’s exactly what the Sun Devils did Friday night, stunning 17th-ranked USC 3-0.
Coach Kevin Boyd was happy to see the offense come alive after being shutout in its last two games.
“When you bring everything you got you’ve got a chance. And we brought everything tonight,” said Boyd. “I’ve been waiting for our best game and this may have just been it.”
The Sun Devils got a break to start the game. A handball by USC in its own box allowed Alexandra Elston the chance for a penalty kick. She easily beat USC goaltender Shelby Church in the 6th minute to give ASU a 1-0 lead.
“I think it was important [to take an early lead] cause we’ve been having trouble scoring goals lately,” said Elston. And to get on the board first was really big for us.”
Right before halftime, the Sun Devils would seize momentum once again. Josey Graybeal, who plays defense for ASU, would head in a beautiful pass from Keri Shane in the 45th minute. ASU’s offensive aggressiveness paid off, giving the Devils a 2-0 lead going into halftime.
ASU goaltender Alyssa Gillmore made some important saves en route to a shotout. She made a one-handed diving save in the 2nd half. Gillmore also made a big save on a USC penalty kick from Alyssa Davila in the 67th minute of the 2nd half.
“This is probably one of the first games where we came out and played a full 90 minutes.” said Gillmore.
ASU’s leading scorer, Karin Volpe, would salt the game away in the 70th minute, scoring in the box off a throw in to give ASU its third and final goal of the night.
“We said we needed one win coming into the weekend to put us in the playoffs,” said Volpe.
With the win, the Sun Devils have likely clinched a spot in the NCAA tournament. The Sun Devils are (9-6-3) and (3-4-1) in Pac-1o play. But thanks to their tough non-conference schedule, ASU has a high RPI, which is a crucial element when it comes to getting in the tournament.
“We win on Sunday, we could be a seeded team,” said Boyd.
Only 16 teams of the 64 in the tournament are seeded.
The Sun Devils wrap up the regular season against UCLA at 1pm on Sunday afternoon at Sun Devil Soccer Stadium in Tempe.
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