There is no place like home, and a final home stand at Sun Devil Soccer Stadium offers a glimmer of hope after the Sun Devils' recent struggles.
After a strong first month, the Sun Devils have slipped in the Big 12 play with a 2-4-1 conference record.
The team's Big 12 schedule featured two home stands. The Sun Devils' first set of three home games was far from successful with a win over Cincinnati but losses to West Virginia and Utah.
"We looked a little bit lethargic … and when you're playing a team that's got possession of the ball, you kind of expect to run a little bit more," head coach Graham Winkworth said. "We didn't get close enough to them, and we've got to do a better job at that against these two good teams this weekend."
ASU boasts a 5-2-2 home record and 2-2-1 on the road. Although the splits look similar, the Sun Devils recognize there's an advantage to playing in front of a supporting crowd.
"There's more fans coming and we feel in a way more comfortable . We know the surroundings," freshman forward Megan Sofield said.
Playing at home or on the road isn't posing troubles for the team but its play remains a lagging issue. Winkworth was displeased with his players' errors against Utah and commented that they have "got to get back to the basics again."
ASU must play clean soccer and limit errant passes that lead to easy scoring opportunities, which happened far too often against the Utes. Winkworth also wants his Sun Devils to be brave, one of his season-long goals.
"We need to be patient as we build, and then when we get to the final third, we need to be adventurous,” Winkworth said. "Against Utah, (Kierra Blundell) received the ball and laid it off. And for me, that's passing on the responsibility … You want her to be brave and take the player on 1v1 and get a shot off … goals will follow when those things happen."
Team identity, or lack thereof, has been an ongoing issue for the Sun Devils. Winkworth felt that his group lost their identity in the loss against BYU a few weeks ago and his players have reinforced that feeling.
"I think we probably lost our identity a little bit in the last game so that's something we want to get back to," said fifth-year defender Lucy Johnson. "Keeping possession, playing through the midfield, it's definitely an identity of ours."
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All three of the Sun Devils' losses have been among the five games where they have run the least, according to Winkworth, signaling how the team can improve late in the season.
"Even when you're not playing particularly well, work hard," Winkworth said. "Work can sometimes save the day. So we've got to make sure that that's a given and we're covering a lot of ground."
At this stage of the season, it is impractical for the team to make major changes. All they can do is see the issues that are slowing them down on film and work on them throughout practice, which they hope will remedy the problem.
"We don't want to get bogged down with trying to change everything because that's when you overcomplicate things a little bit too much," Johnson said. "But I would say trying to do the basics, to try and do them to the best of our ability, is how we're going to move forward."
READ MORE: In midst of conference play, ASU women's soccer struggles with set pieces
The Sun Devils lost to Baylor on Oct. 10, but continue on the road to No. 12 TCU on Oct. 13. ASU will then return to Tempe for its final three games of the year against Kansas State, Kansas and UA to conclude the regular season.
Edited by Jack Barron, Sophia Braccio and Madeline Schmitke.
Reach the reporter at pvallur2@asu.edu and follow @PrathamValluri on X.
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Pratham is a sophomore studying sports journalism with a minor in business. This is his second semester with The State Press.
