ASU soccer emerged from a 1-0 loss to Texas Tech confident and eager to improve the pace and flow of its offense.
The No. 18 Sun Devils (4-1) split both games of the Cats Classic in Tucson against Texas Tech and beat No. 18 Pepperdine 5-0.
Coach Kevin Boyd said he wasn't surprised his team finally lost its first game of the season and said in the practices leading up to the weekend he didn't think that his team's effort and mentality was all there.
Boyd said his team came into this week's practice with much more energy, and that they were great so far in training.
One of the things ASU has been addressing in practice is trying to play faster.
"I think Sunday especially we got caught playing too slow," Boyd said. "We're trying to simplify our game a little bit more so that when we're on a day when things just aren't going right we can still find ways out of that hole. Usually the way to do that is to play simple and try not to make it complicated. Once you simplify your game and start connecting you get confidence and go back to who you are."
Junior midfielder Lucy Lara was named to the TopDrawerSoccer.com women's team of the week after her three-assist performance against Pepperdine on Friday. Lara developed confidence in the offseason that has helped shape and improve her game in the early part of the 2015 season.
"I think the confidence I got in the spring really helped me open up and be the player I can be," Lara said. "Just the confidence my team plays and puts on me helps me really be the player I am."
Lara has been key to the Sun Devils' success early this season. She has one goal and four assists so far and has continued to put pressure on opposing goalies, totaling 13 shots this year.
Lara said she and her team have already put the loss to Texas Tech behind them.
"We're looking forward to this weekend's game and we're not really thinking about Texas Tech," Lara said. "What we are thinking of is the things we can improve on that we did wrong."
The Sun Devils will travel down to Oklahoma State for their next game Friday at 5 p.m. ASU will conclude the weekend with a game against University of Oklahoma on Sunday at 10 a.m.
Related Links:
ASU soccer falls to Texas Tech 1-0
Reach the reporter at Lucas.Taglienti@asu.edu or follow @ltaglientivevo on Twitter
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