With less than 20 minutes to go in the match, a foul called on senior defender Natalie Drotzmann in the box set up a chance for Oklahoma State to tie Arizona State at 1 goal apiece.

However, upon discussion with both coaches, the officials reviewed the play and determined that Oklahoma State junior forward Sherline King committed a handball before the foul occurred, negating the foul.

This decision took away a much-needed chance for Oklahoma State, which was the beginning of a chain of events that led ASU (8-4-3, 3-3-1 Big 12) to a 2-1 victory over Oklahoma State (5-7-3, 1-5-1) Friday, Oct. 16, at Neal Patterson Stadium in Stillwater, Oklahoma.

 Ten minutes after the handball call on King, ASU freshman defender Gator Demark took a long and high shot on goal from near the out-of-bounds line. Demark’s shot perfectly threaded the needle between the top goalpost and the hands of Oklahoma State fifth-year goalkeeper Avery Bass, putting ASU ahead by two goals in the final 10 minutes of play.

Oklahoma State wasn’t going to let ASU get away with a win that easily, though. Six of the 12 shots Oklahoma State recorded in the second half were taken after Demark’s goal.

The Cowgirls found themselves with a chance in the final minute of play, as a foul in the box on Drotzmann, the same Sun Devil who almost caused an Oklahoma State penalty kick just 20 minutes prior, gave the Cowgirls a penalty kick.

Senior midfielder Laudan Wilson chose the left side of the goal and ASU sophomore goalkeeper Izzy Duink went in the same direction, but the ball flew just out of Duink’s reach and found the back of the net for Oklahoma State’s first goal of the night.

However, it was too little too late for the Cowgirls, as a foul on junior forward Aubrey Wagner 23 seconds after that penalty kick gave possession to the Sun Devils, who ran out the final 30 seconds of the clock to secure victory.

Both of these teams sit in the bottom half of the Big 12 women’s soccer standings, and both hadn’t won a match in the month of October heading into this contest.

The Sun Devils, who lost or tied their last three conference matchups, needed a win here to try to make an effort at the Big 12 championship as time left in the season dwindles down. 

Oklahoma State, on the other hand, has lost five of its seven conference matches this season and has fallen to third to last in the conference.

The ASU defense came up big in the win.

The Cowgirls had four corner kicks in the first 20 minutes of play, all of which were kept out of the net by the Sun Devils’ defense, which has been consistent all season.

The ASU offense, on the other hand, showed a sluggish offensive performance in the first 20 minutes of play until junior forward Sierra Bergen, ASU’s leader in shots this season, found a goal off an assist from both senior defender Lucy Fazackerly and senior midfielder Miki Hayashi.

After this, the Sun Devils commanded the match and didn’t allow Oklahoma State another shot for the rest of the first half. This defensive effort was led by Duink, who made her first start of the season tonight and recorded six saves and her first solo shutout of her career.

ASU returns to Tempe for a three-game homestand that starts with a match against No. 13 Baylor Thursday night, Oct. 22, at Sun Devil Soccer Stadium.