TUCSON- With a postseason berth hanging in the balance, the ASU soccer team took a big step toward the postseason Saturday.
In front of a record-breaking crowd at Lohse Stadium, the Sun Devils defeated No. 25 UA, 2-1.
"Arizona is a top-25 team, and it was a good win for us to get momentum coming into our last weekend," senior midfielder Manya Makoski said.
Makoski scored the two ASU (9-6-3, 4-2-1 Pac-10) goals, with both assists coming from fellow senior midfielder Brittany Cooper.
ASU's first score came after UA senior midfielder Mallory Miller tried to take control of a ball inside the box. She was bumped and fell down, allowing ASU junior goalkeeper Kim Bingham to pick up the ball and quickly clear it downfield to Cooper.
"All I saw was Cooper shooting the ball," Makoski said. "I just ran right at the keeper, and it bounced off her hands right to me, so I was able to put it in."
UA (9-5-3, 4-2-1) scored the equalizer in the 55th minute on an assist by freshman London King. King kicked the ball over the back of her head to an open Jennifer Klein, who put the ball in the bottom right corner to tie the game.
ASU scored the game-winning goal in the 70th minute, off the right foot of Makoski and an assist from Cooper, silencing the 1,208 spectators in attendance.
"I saw [Makoski] running and I tried to hit her feet," Cooper said. "Then she made an awesome slide and got the goal."
For the remaining 20 minutes, ASU took control of loose balls in the middle of the field to keep possession.
"I think everyone was just in tune with each other," Cooper said. "It's a credit to [sophomore forward Lara] Kezer and [senior defender Steph] Ebner who kept winning second balls and picking them off."
ASU had 12 corner kicks compared to UA's two, however, none yielded goals.
"Even if we didn't score, at least they were dangerous," soccer coach Ray Leone said. "McCall is a great goalkeeper, so it's not easy to put one in on her."
With the victory, ASU goes to 10-0-1 all time against the Wildcats and it ties the two teams for fourth place in the Pac-10.
The Sun Devils will return to action against second place USC and No. 4 UCLA next weekend in Los Angeles.
"We were really fortunate to win tonight, and hopefully we can take this confidence into the next set of games," Leone said.
Reach the reporter at thomas.j.kelley@asu.edu.
