ASU Soccer: Sun Devils take down UC Irvine

After getting down 1-0 early, Arizona State (5-0) rallied quickly to take down UC Irvine 3-1 on Friday afternoon in a matchup that took place down south in Tucson at Mulcahy Stadium.

In the 23rd minute, ASU sophomore midfielder Eva Van Deursen charged to the goal while a ball was booted toward the Anteater goalkeeper. The keeper initially misplayed a carom, and Van Deursen was right in front of her to tap in the miscue and knot the match at one.

Then at the 30:53 mark of the first half, sophomore Marleen Schimmer buried a goal after nearly getting taken down by a UC Irvine defender. While taking contact and playing through a no-call, she stormed past the Anteaters back line and proceeded to walk in one-on-one with the goalkeeper.

Schimmer rifled a shot past the near post, and into the goal to give ASU a 2-1 advantage.

As for the final tally, sophomore forward Nicole Douglas picked up her team-leading fifth goal of the season in the 88th minute of action.

ASU outshot UC Irvine 19-3 with six shots on goal compared to the Anteaters one. Additionally, freshman goalkeeper Giulia Cascapera didn’t have to make a save behind her team’s strong performance on the pitch.

After an early strike from UC Irvine, the team responded with a vengeance and never looked back as they cruised past the foe from Southern California.

The Devils are now 5-0 to kick off their season for just the second time in program history, and they are outscoring their opponents 22-4. Up next, they play Oklahoma on Sunday, Sep. 8 at 5 p.m. local time in Tempe.