The No. 16 UA soccer team suffered a 1-0 loss to ASU Friday night. The Wildcats' second consecutive loss dropped them to 3-2 in Pacific 10 Conference play.
"I thought ASU was better than us today. They just played better than we did," UA head coach Dan Tobias said.
The split crowd of 1,123 looked on as ASU (7-7-1, 3-1-1 Pac-10) took 22 shots - 14 in the second half alone - on the Wildcats. The Wildcat defense held off the ASU attack until the 72nd minute, when Manya Makoski capitalized on a goalie-less net. UA goalkeeper McCall Smith came off her line to challenge a cross pass into the box. Smith was unable to get control of the ball, and ASU forward Elizabeth Bogus took advantage and passed it to Makoski for the score.
Overall, Smith made seven saves.
"We just had gaps, and they found those gaps," said midfielder Nikki David, who had one shot on the day. "Next week we just need to be tighter and come prepared."
UA took nine shots overall but had just two shots on goal. The Wildcats had possession for much of the first 20 minutes of the game, but could not establish a rhythm offensively after that, Tobias said.
This is the first time all season the Wildcats have lost consecutive games. On Oct. 17 the UA lost 1-0 to California, their first conference loss of the season. This two-game losing streak comes after the Wildcats won three straight games to open Pac-10 play - the best start in UA soccer history.
Friday's game marked the return of freshman midfielder Amanda Urtuzuastegui, who missed two games due to an ankle injury suffered against Washington on Oct. 10. Urtuzuastegui did not start against ASU, but came in with about 10 minutes left in the first half and played the remainder of the game.
With Friday's loss, the Wildcats fall to 0-9-1 all-time against the Sun Devils.
"I just wish our team would have put together a better overall 90 minutes," Tobias said.
"This is one game. It's not going to determine the rest of our season," he said.
The Wildcats return to Murphey Stadium this week for their final Pac-10 home games of the season against Southern California Friday at 7 p.m., and UCLA Sunday at 1 p.m.