Tempers flared at ASU's men's club soccer home opener Sunday evening when the team hosted New Mexico Tech at the SRC fields in Tempe.
ASU got off to a fast start and never let up. The men in maroon pushed the ball using skills and speed to outplay New Mexico Tech in a 5-0 win.
Early scoring from the Sun Devils kept the Pistols chasing. Two minutes into the game, freshman Duncan Harrisson netted the teams' first goal of the game from Conner Holbert. Ten minutes later, ASU netted the second goal in the game from game captain Holbert, giving ASU the 2-0 advantage.
“I just saw my boy Holbert rip the ball in from the corner and I was playing right back at the time and the ball sailed over a couple defenders and I just put it on the back post,” Harrisson said about his goal.
Not letting up the offensive pressure, the Sun Devils kept firing shots, angering both the New Mexico Tech’s goalkeeper and defense.
ASU's Stefan Speno broke away through two defensemen to have a decent scoring chance, but came up just short.
In the 32nd minute, Riley Biederbeck scored a beautiful goal from outside the box, shocking the goalkeeper, spectators and teammates.
“Riley’s goal was pretty nice cause it was a rip from outside,” teammate Carter Sutton said.
As the goals began to increase, so did the tempers of the players on both sides. Four yellow cards were issued, two to each team.
ASUFC took a 3-0 lead into the half. Not only were the goals one sided, but so was the time of possession.
The second half started much like the first half ended, including dominance from the ASUFC squad and tempers that needed to be checked. In the 52nd minute, Holbert picked up his first yellow card, but could have been ejected for continuing to talk to the head umpire.
With tempers high, the men in maroon’s game got sloppy and unrecognizable. The frustration was evident as players were yelling at teammates.
However, the men bounced back to dominating form, possession and scoring.
In the 19th minute, Ryan Kindseth scored off the rebound from a free kick, expanding ASU’s lead. Ten minutes after Kindseth’s goal, teammate and one of the senior and one of last season’s leading scorers Marco Gutierrez scored a goal of his own.
Three more yellow cards were issued in the second half. Despite the penalties, the game was an easy win for ASUFC.
“Today was pretty much a straight forward game. I’m excited to score but I want to score against the good teams, too” Holbert said.
All the Sun Devil players know there are tougher teams on the schedule and are focused on those teams, however, the ultimate goal it to win it all after coming up short that last three years.
The team is now 1-1-0 on the year, after losing a thriller to NAU last Saturday.
ASUFC’s next home game is against the United States Marine Corps Soccer team on Thursday, September 10, at 7 p.m. at the Sun Devil Stadium.
Reach the reporter at aramanju@asu.edu or follow @aram_unfiltered on Twitter.
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