ASU Soccer: Arizona blanks No. 16 Arizona State in Tucson

Arizona’s (6-3) plan for Friday night’s non-conference match with the 16th-ranked Sun Devils was to force anyone not named Nicole Douglas to score.

It certainly worked for the Wildcats in their 1-0 win. Douglas was held to one shot in Arizona State’s (6-1-2) first loss of the season.

It felt like every Sun Devil attack had an answer. Arizona State took eight shots, five on goal, but none of them put a ton of pressure on Wildcat keeper Hope Hisey. Midfielder Eva Van Deursen put two on goal and Olive Jones added one as well.

Giulia Cascapera had a nice night in goal for Arizona State, too. She had five saves, and most of them were from a Wildcat barrage in the second half. Nevertheless, her performance gave her team a chance until the very end.

The lone goal on the night was simply a masterful corner attempt from Arizona. Wildcat veteran Jada Talley sent a cross that Ava McCray lifted perfectly into the goal in the 33rd minute.

Graham Winkworth’s team will need to find more from their attack as the Sun Devils have yet to score more than one goal in a conference game this season and every goal but one has been from Douglas.

Arizona State heads to UCLA to finish its road trip on March 26.