TEMPE – Arizona’s soccer team still has yet to score, extending its recent drought to 448 minutes of play.
The Wildcats, who were dropped 4-0 by ASU at Arizona State Soccer Stadium on Saturday, have now failed to score in four straight games.
“”A lot of it has to do with our inability to keep the ball,”” said UA head coach Dan Tobias. “”The last few games, the quality of the chances were much better, and obviously on (Saturday) that wasn’t the case.””
After the game, junior defender Claire Bodiya said the problems were neither offensive nor defensive, but more of a mental issue.
“”If your team is not there and they don’t want to play, then this is what happens,”” she said. “”Our team had no heart. There were a select few, but as a team, there was no heart.””
Portland was the last team to score four goals against Arizona, winning 4-0 in last year’s Sweet 16, and the Pilots would go on to become national champions.
Despite the Wildcats allowing the second-most goals per game in the Pacific 10 Conference, Tobias said Arizona “”is not a team that usually gives up a lot of goals, so the score (of Saturday night) can be deceiving.””
Arizona (8-8-2, 1-4-2 Pac-10) took only 10 shots the entire game, with none on goal in the first half. ASU, meanwhile, had 18 shots, one of which came from its goalie, senior Kim Bingham, during a free kick just inside the midfield line. The shot missed just to the left of the goal, knocking down a section of fencing that borders the field.
“”They are a really direct team, and they commit to hitting a lot of balls forward, and we just didn’t deal with that very well at all,”” Tobias said.
The Wildcats continued to struggle in the offensive realm of the game.
“”It is a team problem,”” said freshman forward Laura Huylebroeck, who has one goal and one assist. “”We’re kind of in a rut right now.””
Often during the game, Arizona had trouble advancing the ball out of their half of the field, allowing ASU to creep closer to the goal.
The Sun Devils (7-8-2, 2-5-0) scored two goals in the first half alone and were on the attack for the majority of the time.
At the 24:06 mark, ASU freshman midfielder Carly Kallas notched the first goal of the game by heading the ball in from a free kick 25 yards out by junior defender Kyleyn Felts.
The Sun Devils added to their lead at the 36:37 mark when junior forward Lara Kezer scored a goal that was assisted by junior forward Alissa Oldenkamp.
Oldenkamp would go on to score two goals of her own in the second half.
“”I thought ASU did a fantastic job,”” Tobias said of the team that now leads the all-time series with Arizona 11-0-1. “”They were very aggressive, they were first to almost every ball, and they put us under a lot of pressure, especially in the first half.””
At the 61:07 mark, Bodiya was taken out of the game after colliding with an ASU attacker and hurting her back.
The injury did not help with her current back problems.
“”It’s just something that’s been going on for about three months now,”” Bodiya said. “”We’ve been treating it, and it’s one of those things that’s not going to get better until I stop playing (when the season ends).””