Senior midfielder Taylor McCarter surveys the field during the Sun Devils’ 5-4 double overtime win over USC on Sept. 28. (Photo by Kyle Newman)After Monday’s 4-1 loss against No. 3 UCLA, the ASU soccer team knew it had a lot to improve on before visiting the Washington schools this weekend.
Coach Kevin Boyd believes his squad has regained its confidence heading into Friday’s match against Washington State (7-3-1, 1-1-1 Pac-12).
“We know we are a good team and there are some things we still need to improve on,” Boyd said. “We need to keep trying to put who we are on the field, and it’s really where our focus needs to be.”
Senior midfielder Taylor McCarter agrees with Boyd and helped rally the Sun Devils (5-6-1, 1-2 Pac-12) this week.
“We had a team meeting to go over what we did wrong and how to fix it,” McCarter said. “It’s just one game, and we are just trying to learn from it.”
After giving up eight goals last weekend, the Sun Devils put an emphasis on defense in practice.
Defending wasn’t Boyd’s biggest concern, however.
“We’ve been working on trying to keep the ball better,” Boyd said. “It’s something we need to improve on.”
The trek up to Washington provides no relief for the Sun Devils either.
“It’s a really hard trip to make,” Boyd said. “It’s probably the hardest trip to make in our conference.”
Washington State comes into Friday’s match fresh off its first Pac-12 win of the season, a 1-0 road victory over Colorado.
Although the Cougars are only 1-7 all-time against the Sun Devils at home, Boyd knows Washington State will pose a challenge.
“They are a good team,” Boyd said. “They are very similar to what they were last year. We know their personnel really well. There are some good players there for sure. They are a very physical team and that’s something we have to expect going in.”
Sunday’s opponent, Washington (8-3-1, 1-2 Pac-12) touts junior forward Lindsay Elston, who has tallied seven goals already this season.
The Huskies (8-3, 1-2 Pac-12) lead the all-time series 8-5-3 and are undefeated at home this season.
Boyd believes the Sun Devils can still compete with Washington.
“We know what they are bringing and who they are so, it’s just a matter of whether we can put our game out there,” Boyd said.
Reach the reporter at dsshapi1@asu.edu
