Sun Devils blank
Rainbow Wahine 4-0
The Arizona State women's soccer team lived up to its preseason No. 14 ranking by taking advantage of key Hawaii Rainbow Wahine defensive mistakes last night.
The Sun Devils defeated Hawaii 4-0 in the opener of the Ohana Hotels & Resorts No Ka Oi Tournament at the Waipio Peninsula Soccer Park stadium.
"You could tell it was the first game, but I'm pleased with the way our players responded, especially since we knew Hawaii would throw everything at us," said ASU coach Ray Leone.
The Sun Devils took a 1-0 lead in a fast-paced opening half that featured several scoring opportunities and seven shots on goal by each team.
Elizabeth Bogus, ASU's leading scorer a year ago, put the visitors ahead with 5 minutes, 10 seconds gone in the match. She took a long throw-in on the left sideline, headed the ball past a UH defender to herself, then cut in toward the Hawaii net and beat goalkeeper Mahie Atay with a hard grounder just inside the left post.
The first good attempt for the Wahine came in the 25th minute when Robyn deHay sent a left footer from about 25 yards out on the right side that curled just wide of the far post. Four minutes later deHay broke clear inside the penalty box on the left side, but her cross was grabbed by ASU goalkeeper Kelly Fitzgerald with a diving save as two Wahine waited hopefully on the opposite side.
Moments later Atay made a similar save on Levise Robinson, who broke clear on the left side and tested the UH keeper with a low shot headed for the far post.
The Sun Devils took complete control of the match after intermission.
Early in the second half Robinson stole the ball from Wahine right back Sasha Araya-Schraner 20 yards inside the midfield line, raced in unimpeded and crossed to Patrice Feulner, who merely had to redirect the ball into the net. That score came at 47:55.
At 50:58, Atay attempted to clear a back pass, but Robinson intercepted, dribbled around Atay and planted the ball in the open net for a 3-0 ASU lead.
"We gave away the first three goals, but I thought we played well, were competitive and controlled long snippets of the game," said UH coach Pinsoom Tenzing. "We need more work in building the attack and we need to be more versatile.
Following 10 minutes of constant pressure by the Hawaii offense, Bogus scored her second goal off a pass from Courtney Crane at 73:25, finishing off a quick counter attack with a left-footed shot inside the left post from 12 yards out.
The Wahine outshot ASU 16-13, but Fitzgerald was only tested once with a difficult UH attempt on goal.
The tournament continues tonight with the Sun Devils playing Bowling Green at 7.
