TEMPE – Sun Devil soccer (10-5-4) will play its final match of the regular season against its rival, Arizona (5-8-5), on Friday at 7 p.m. MST in Tucson. The annual Territorial Cup match will be broadcast on Pac-12 Arizona.
For the first time this season, the Sun Devils are coming off consecutive losses from a 2-0 loss to Utah and a 4-0 defeat by Colorado. Friday’s match against the Utes saw a goal in each half for the opposing team that ASU could not come back from, while Sunday’s match against the Buffaloes saw a scoreless first half but a scoring burst in the second for Colorado.
Arizona is returning home with a loss to Colorado and a win over Utah. The Buffaloes defeated the Wildcats 2-0. In the Wildcats following match against the Utes, they recorded their first win since Sept. 22 (eight games) with a 1-0 shutout. The game-winning goal for Arizona came in the 37th minute.
Entering into the big rivalry match, the Sun Devils hold the series advantage with an 18-10-1 record over the Wildcats. In the most recent meeting, the match was either team, with ASU recording the opening goal, but Arizona followed it up with two goals of their own. The outcome was a 3-2 win for the Sun Devils and their first win over the Wildcats since 2015.
Ahead of the final match of the regular season, the Sun Devils remain in the various Pac-12 leaderboards. Enasia Colon sits in third place for goals (nine) and points (22), while Keri Matthews and Suzuka Yosue are tied for second with six assists. Pauline Nelles sits in second place with her .885 save percentage, and she sits in third place for her 78 saves. She is also fourth in GAA (0.79) and goals allowed (15).
ASU has found much of its scoring effort in the second half of games, with 22 of the 29 total goals coming after intermission. They have tallied 12 of those in the final 15 minutes of action.
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