JACKS, SUN DEVILS DRAW IN SEASON OPENER

Thursday, August 18

Tempe, Ariz.

7:00 PM MT / 9:00 PM CT

South Dakota State University

0-0-1, 0-0-0

Arizona State

0-0-1, 0-0-0

South Dakota St.

Arizona St.

Photo by: Dave Eggen/Inertia

8/19/2022 2:07:00 PM | Women's Soccer

Box Score

By: Andrew Pedersen

TEMPE, Ariz. – South Dakota State and Arizona State resumed their season-opening soccer match on Friday at Sun Devil Soccer/Lacrosse Stadium, after suspending their contest the night prior due to inclement weather, and the two sides played to a 1-1 draw.

The Jackrabbits held a 1-0 advantage heading into the two sides starting play again Friday in the 48th minute. Maya Hansen scored a goal in the 16th minute Thursday evening as she raced through the defense and drilled a shot past the Sun Devils' diving keeper. It was the 29th goal of her SDSU career while Kaycee Manding picked up her first assist in two seasons.

SDSU was the aggressor on offense Thursday registering a 10-5 edge in shots in the opening 45 minutes.

"We didn't start the game great, but a credit to our players for sticking with it," said SDSU head coach Brock Thompson. "The goal really energized our team and then we had a really positive stretch of soccer in the following 20-25 minutes afterwards."

The second half, which primarily took place Friday, saw Arizona State come out firing. The Sun Devils tied the score in the 50th minute as Keri Matthews had a first shot go off the post, then followed it up by finding the back of the net behind assists by Gabi Rennie and Lucy Johnson.

Though Arizona State recorded an 11-6 shot advantage in the second half, South Dakota State put together several opportunities on goal as the Jacks tried to reclaim the lead.

SDSU's Laney Murdzek produced a shot on goal in the 85th minute to force a save, while Rachel Preston and Hansen each had chances of their own in the 87th minute.

The Sun Devils had a final opening in the 90th minute to complete the comeback against the visiting Jacks, but ASU was called for offsides with less than 30 seconds remaining on the clock.

"We knew that they'd come out and press and chase the game a little bit," Thompson said. "They're a good, well-coached team and they got the goal.

"It would have been easy for our team to just operate on cruise control from that point on. We found our footing, we found some space in the game in the last 15-20 minutes and created some chances, and the game really opened up. They created some too, but it's games like this that will make our team better. We've got big aspirations for our program and playing teams like Arizona State help us grow as a group."

Notes
Both teams finished with 16 shots apiece as Hansen, Avery Murdzek and Laney Murdzek, Preston, Cece Limongi, Katherine Jones and Karlee Manding all put shots on goal for SDSU. The Jacks had two goalkeepers in Hailee Fischer and Jocelyn Tanner record three saves apiece. Kaycee Manding and Preston each played a team-high 90 minutes. Freshmen Lauren Eckerle and Alohi Ramos made their collegiate debuts.

Up Next
The Jackrabbits (0-0-1) are slated to continue their three-game stretch in Arizona on Sunday at 9 p.m. CT when they take on Grand Canyon (1-0-0) in Phoenix.

-GoJacks.com-