PULLMAN, Wash. -- Courtney Tinnin scored her second goal of the season and Chandler Morris made seven saves to lead the Arizona State women’s soccer team to a 1-0 win over Washington State on Friday.
For the Sun Devils (6-6-1, 2-2 Pac-12), it was the fifth win in the last seven games. It was also ASU's eighth win over Washington State (7-4-1 Pac-12) in nine visits to Pullman.
“I’m really happy with how we performed today,” ASU head coach Kevin Boyd said. “We were able to survive and be tough enough and disciplined enough to keep a team out [that was pressing for the tying goal]. They got some chances on us, but I like that we didn’t buckle at all. We kept fighting and battling and doing all the things that we’ve been talking about.”
After giving up four goals in consecutive games last weekend against USC and UCLA, the Sun Devils responded by coming through with their fifth shutout of the season.
“We just talked about what we needed to do,” Boyd said. “It was just a matter of being a little more disciplined and a little more determined in the second half. We didn’t get down on ourselves. We stayed up and were able to respond with aggressive and assertive play when we had to.”
The only goal of the contest came in the 13th minute when Tinnin scored off an attempted corner kick. For Tinnin it was her second goal in ASU’s last three games. It was also the first goal given up by Washington State at home in nearly 667 minutes, breaking the Cougars’ home shutout streak at seven games.
“(Courtney) just bent a corner kick into the far post,” Boyd said. “I love that she did that. It’s great that she got a goal like that and I hope she gets more, but scoring goals like that is not something we can consistently rely on.”
The Sun Devils would depend on a stout defensive performance the rest of the way, turning back a Washington State squad that outshot them 20-14, including an 8-5 advantage in shots on goal.
Coming through with a brilliant outing was Morris, whose seven saves set a new career high. One of Morris’ biggest saves came with fewer than three minutes left in the first half when WSU senior forward Brandi Vega got free on a breakaway, setting up a one-on-one situation with Morris. Vega laced a shot toward the net, but Morris used a diving effort to knock the ball away, a save Boyd called "outstanding." Defenders Jasmine Roth and Christina Schedel then combined to break up Vega’s rebound.
Morris would make five more saves in the second half as the Sun Devils were able to stave off several Washington State rallies.
“I thought we did a good job of just weathering what was coming at us, and then the last 20 minutes the game evened out, and so that helped,” Boyd said.
For the Sun Devils, it was the third consecutive game without injured junior forward Devin Marshall. Currently tied for the team lead in goals with six, Marshall’s status is being evaluated on a game-to game basis. Without Marshall in the lineup, several Sun Devils stepped up on the front line.
“I thought we got some good play up top,” Boyd said. “Cali [Farquharson] was good and I thought Nicki (Stone) came in and did a very nice job of controlling the ball and creating some opportunities. I thought Holland (Crook) played off those two really well.”
Farquharson nearly scored a second goal for the Sun Devils right before the final horn, but her shot went wide right.
