Four games. Four wins. Four shutouts.
In their first match as part of the "Cats Classic" tournament in Tucson, No. 22 ASU soccer (4-0) crushed No. 14 Pepperdine 5-0 in a game that began as a back-and-forth grind and became a statement win.
"We've needed a test like this," ASU head coach Kevin Boyd said postgame. "And obviously today we came through with flying colors."
ASU's goal differential improved to 16-0 and redshirt senior goalkeeper Chandler Morris earned her 23rd career shutout.
The Sun Devils (4-0) were looking for a spark to ignite offense their in a physical battle. It came from usual suspect and senior forward Cali Farquharson, the catalyst who started the fire that became a raging offensive inferno.
In the 38th minute, taking possession just outside the box, Farquharson played the ball to her left side and onto the feet of her teammate, redshirt junior midfielder Lucy Lara.
Lara immediately tapped the ball back to Farquharson, who fired it into the back of the net to put the Sun Devils on top 1-0. It was the the first of three assists for Lara and Farquharson's 39th career goal.
Boyd said that he's happy for Lara, and that his team has been efficient as a whole in 2015.
"We feel like our attack is really dangerous," Boyd said. "We were very productive when we got to the final third (today), with 13 shots and five goals."
Just under two minutes later, ASU added to its lead thanks to a lightning strike from sophomore forward Jazmarie Mader, her first of the year, and the Sun Devils took a 2-0 lead into the break.
Sophomore forward Aly Moon set the pace for the eventual rout, tallying a goal in the 55th minute.
After the pint-sized striker muscled her way past one physical Pepperdine defender on the right side of the net, she deked past another oncoming defender and goalkeeper and buried the ball in the back of the net.
On a breakaway in the 67th minute, Mader doubled her season total with her second score of the night, extending the Sun Devils' lead to 4-0.
Boyd said it was "great" to see Mader score her first two goals of the season, and continued to preach that substitutes are earning their opportunities through their elevated performances in practice.
"(Mader's) have been coming because of her last week of practice," Boyd said. "She's been driven, so all this today that happened for her happened in practice."
Sophomore forward Jessica Raybe capped the onslaught with a header on a slick assist from Farquharson.
Friday's victory was an important one for the Sun Devils, who didn't let up against a team that tied No. 1 Virginia 2-2 in its last game.
Boyd insisted that his team can't become complacent despite its early success.
"I want to see consistency," Boyd said. "I want to see us coming out with the same mindset all the time and try to impose our game on the opponent, and I think we did that today."
ASU's next opponent in the Cats Classic will be No. 18 Texas Tech (3-1-1). Kickoff is scheduled for 11 a.m. on Sunday, Sept. 13 in Tucson.
Reach the reporter at rclarke6@asu.edu or follow @RClarkeASU on Twitter.
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