ASU soccer rolled into Boulder and spoiled Colorado's senior night, winning 2-1 and fending off a late surge in which the Buffaloes (7-9-3) nearly buried the equalizer.
The Sun Devils (8-8-1) grabbed an early 1-0 lead in the seventh minute when Aly Moon flicked a long pass in the penalty box to Jessica Raybe, who was able to cut inside and put her shot in the left corner.
The goal was Raybe's fifth of the season, putting her second on the team in scores behind Cali Farquharson. Raybe has scored four goals in the last five games.
ASU padded their lead in the 59th minute when McKenzie Berryhill's shot was deflected by Colorado goalkeeper Kate Scheele.
Aly Moon was the catalyst of the play – she stripped the ball away from the keeper and chipped a pass to Berryhill for a wide-open header in front of the net, putting ASU in command and up 2-0.
The goal was Berryhill's second of the season and also resulted in Moon's second assist on the afternoon, and fourth of the season.
Colorado put a dent in ASU's lead in the 74th minute after Heather Ward is able to punch the ball into the net following a free kick, trimming the Sun Devil's lead to just one goal at 2-1.
ASU was able to hold off Colorado's fierce second half attack and remain in the lead for the entire game despite Colorado's 14 shots.
Colorado had an excellent chance to score right before halftime. The ball was being knocked around inside the six-yard box of ASU's goal and the Sun Devils were unable to clear it, but Colorado was called for a handball when the ball was in the air, saving a goal.
In the 78th minute, Whitney Kanavel collided knees with a Colorado player at midfield.
She was down on the field for several minutes holding her right knee and was carried off the field.
Kanavel wasn't able to put pressure on her right leg when leaving the game.
During the first half, both teams had nine shots each. ASU had the better opportunities during the first 45 minutes, totaling six shots on goal compared to three by Colorado.
The Sun Devils came into Sunday's game after suffering a heartbreaking 2-1 overtime loss to Utah Friday night. Utah scored in the very first minute of overtime, possibly dashing ASU's postseason hopes.
Coming into Sunday's game, Colorado hadn't won in their previous eight matches. The Buffaloes went 0-6-2 during that stretch, but they were able to tie with No. 21 Arizona on Friday.
ASU will finish up the 2015 regular season next Friday in Tucson to take on Arizona in a Territorial Cup matchup at 6 p.m.
Reach the reporter at Lucas.Taglienti@asu.edu or follow @ltaglientivevo on Twitter
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