ASU soccer (6-3-2) fell to the No. 5 USC Trojans (8-1-1) in heartbreaking fashion Thursday night in Tempe, 2-1.
In the final minute of regulation, USC took the lead when freshman defender Kaylin Martin headed the ball in the net off a beautiful corner kick feed with about 30 seconds left in the game.
With less than a minute on the clock, and the game seemingly over, it would have been easy for ASU to concede the loss. But alas, the Sun Devils marched right down the pitch and drew a foul in the box to give sophomore forward and team-leading goal scorer Nicole Douglas the opportunity to tie the game on a penalty kick.
Unfortunately for Douglas and the Sun Devils, USC’s goalkeeper played the shot tremendously, and ASU left Sun Devil Soccer Stadium with its first loss in Pac-12 play.
Despite the finish, ASU head coach Graham Winkworth noted how proud he was of his team’s resiliency in the match.
“The fact that the girls, with 45 seconds left in the game, concede a goal after working so hard and still believe that it’s possible to win the game just shows you the type of amazing characters we have got at ASU," Winkworth said.
Winkworth was noticeably disappointed postgame, but he reiterated that he thinks the Sun Devils can absolutely go toe-to-toe with any opponent this year.
“It just shows that we can play with some of the best teams in the country, and on another day all that hard work and defending might pay off,” Winkworth said.
ASU’s lone goal in the match came in the 62nd minute, when sophomore midfielder Marleen Schimmer whizzed an incredible goal past the goalkeeper with several Trojan defenders contesting the shot.
Schimmer was in good spirits following the match and reiterated how happy she was with the team.
“It was an incredible game," she said. "I am so proud of the team. We fought, everyone gave 110%. We were all dying out there, but I am just happy to be on the field with them."
Schimmer wasn’t the only standout player for the Sun Devils.
Freshman goalkeeper Giulia Cascapera was continually peppered with shots on goal by USC’s attack, but she made a number of incredible saves in goal for ASU to keep the game within reach.
The fact that ASU was able to play even with the No. 5 team in the nation for 89 minutes of action is a testament just to how competitive ASU can be in the Pac-12 this year.
ASU won’t have too much time to dwell on the loss, as it will return to the pitch Sunday to face No. 16 UCLA at Sun Devil Soccer Stadium at 1 p.m. MST.
Reach the reporter at ltochter@asu.edu and follow @Leo_Toch on Twitter.
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