(Photo: Kristina Vicario/WCSN)
The Sun Devil soccer team dropped its sixth straight game as it fell to Cal 1-0 on Sunday. But the result of the game was not the most significant loss the team suffered.
Sophomore forward Aly Moon was injured in the 51st minute when Cal goalkeeper, Emily Boyd, attempted to punch a ball that had been fed to the forward just outside the six-yard box.
The blow missed the ball, but hit Moon directly on the side of the head.
Paramedics were called after Moon remained on the floor, and she was stretchered off the field for “precautionary measures,” according to the Arizona State staff.
The exact severity of her injuries is still unknown.
This is the second straight game that a Sun Devil is seriously hurt. Senior midfielder Tommi Goodman had to be carried off the field after she fractured part of her ankle in a hard tackle, Friday against Stanford. Goodman is expected to be out for the season.
“We talk about facing adversity, and our ability to combat adversity. Well, this is it. It can’t get any more than this,” head coach Kevin Boyd said. “Things aren’t working our way. We’re losing players. We lose Tommi Friday night, we lose Aly tonight, and we still don’t have Cali. I mean, we’re just up against it.”
Many of the players said that they feel deeply sad about the loss of their fellow players, but that the injuries actually fuel them instead of bringing them down.
“Honestly, I think it makes us play harder because we want to play for them,” sophomore forward Jessica Raybe said. “We played a lot better after Aly got hurt because we were playing for her.”
Nevertheless, the absence of so many key players is undeniably a strain for the Sun Devils as they struggle to find their form and fresh faces get ample playing time for the first time.
The Golden Bears took advantage of the struggles Arizona State is going through and took control of the first half, generating nine shots in that time. The Sun Devils managed only four shots.
Cal nearly broke the deadlock in the 24th minute when junior forward Arielle Ship found herself one on one with Sun Devil goalkeeper Chandler Morris.
Morris was able to block the initial shot, but the deflection landed at the feet of Cal forward Samantha Witteman, who shot at the open goal. Sophomore defender Madison Stark was able to save the shot off the line, preventing the Sun Devils from going down in the first half.
After Moon was taken down in the second half, the Sun Devils seemed to pick up the tempo and began to outplay Cal, but still could not find the back of the net.
“I thought we played well today. We got in, passed the ball around, we just couldn’t finish,” junior forward Larissa Staub said.
Instead, it was Cal who broke the tie. Witteman took advantage of a moment of chaos in the box following a corner kick, and drove the ball past Morris for the goal.
“First half, Cal absolutely outplayed us,” Boyd said. “Second half we outplayed them. Zero, zero first half, and then somehow we give up a goal in the second half.”
The Sun Devils will have another chance to break their losing streak on Friday at 3 p.m. when they take on USC on the road.
