The ASU women's soccer team is enjoying a positive year overall, it's struggles with defending set pieces are glaring and have hurt the team on more than one occasion this season.
Of the nine goals the Sun Devils have conceded this year, four have come from corner kicks and another off a deflection from just outside the penalty box. Coming into the year, ASU knew that playing through the air would not be one of their fortes; as a smaller team, the Sun Devils prioritized keeping the ball on the ground to minimize the opposition's chances at easy scoring opportunities.
"We're not a big team, so we're outmatched when it comes to physicality and when it comes to those set pieces, and it's difficult to compensate because there's only so many places that you can hide," head coach Graham Winkworth said.
One of the Sun Devils' tallest players is junior defender Grace Gillard who stands at 5 feet, 9 inches. The lack of size is apparent when looking at the goals scored by West Virginia and BYU off of corner kicks. In both cases, an opposing player was able to get inside the ASU defense for headers or tap-ins. Due to the Sun Devil roster construction, the defenders have to be even more assertive in these situations.
"Got to be aggressive, got to be confident, got to be brave, and go win (the ball)," assistant coach Ross Alexander said.
Exacerbating the issue is the team's tendency to give up corner kicks. In wins this season, the Sun Devils allow just 4.6 corner kicks per game compared to 11.5 in the losses to BYU and West Virginia.
While teams like the Cougars and Mountaineers will generate more quality shots, the Sun Devils have handed out unnecessary looks too often.
"I think we just need to shift our mentalities and have a better attitude because although (the BYU goal) happened on the set piece and it was a corner, it could have been avoided through the middle of the field," freshman midfielder Ella Kettles said.
Even in wins or ties where ASU played well for long stretches of the game, this problem has plagued them.
"When we're denying crosses, we've got to position our bodies at an angle, so that it's more likely to go for a throw-in than a corner kick. There's always going to be times that we concede those corners, but we are giving them up too easily," Winkworth said.
Winkworth gave the example of their latest game against Cincinnati where the Bearcats had one shot on target for the first 73 minutes of the game but were able to create multiple goal-scoring opportunities from a "needless throw-in" late in the game.
Corner kicks are some of the most quality scoring looks a team can get. The rate at which the Sun Devils allow corners has led to a rise in shots on goal in their losses.
Against BYU and West Virginia, ASU allowed nine and eight shots on goal respectively. In the 10 other matches they have played so far this season, the team has given up just 41 shots on goal.
In addition to ASU's defensive woes, they have not found a way to use set pieces to their advantage on the offensive side. The Sun Devils had their fewest shots on goal this season in their two losses, conjuring up two shots on goal against BYU and three against West Virginia.
"We're working on our press so we can win the ball back to create more," Alexander said
The Sun Devils may not need to rely on set pieces offensively because they have scored the majority of their goals in open-field play, which Winkworth called a "strength of (theirs)."
Mending this recurring issue is a work in progress that the team looks at in the film room and practices on the pitch every day. Right now, the Sun Devils' plan is to raise their energy on the field.
"I don’t think there's been enough aggression yet. We're playing big, strong teams. We've got to match them physically," Winkworth said. "We need more aggression from some of the bigger, stronger players."
Edited by Henry Smardo, Sophia Ramirez and Madeline Schmitke.
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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.
