ASU women's soccer defeats Creighton

The first two goals of sophomore defender Katie Shepard's career proved to be enough offense for the Arizona State women's soccer team on Friday as it defeated Creighton 2-1.

With the victory the Sun Devils (5-1-1) extended their unbeaten streak to four games (3-0-1).

Statistically the Sun Devils dominated as they had overwhelming advantages in shots (14-6) and corner kicks (5-0). Despite those advantages ASU still faced an uphill battle early after Creighton junior Claire Zach scored the first goal of the game on a header in the eighth minute.

The Sun Devils would tie the game less than five minutes later when Shepard scored from point-blank range. Shepard's goal was set up by teammate Alexandra Elston, who headed Courtney Tinnin's corner kick into a crowd. The ball came Shepard's way and she quickly put it away.

Shepard's second career goal would come less than four minutes later when she leaped and headed in another corner kick by Tinnin to give the Sun Devils a 2-1 lead.

The Sun Devils would make the lead stand up for the remainder of the game and nearly increased it early in the second half when they created a flurry of scoring opportunities. After ASU's initial attack failed to produce any additional goals it had to fend off a few threats from the Bluejays, who controlled the action during the latter stages of the second half.

Shepard became the third Sun Devils to score two goals in a game this season joining teammates Karin Volpe (at Tennessee on Aug. 31) and Elston (Sept. 11 vs. San Diego State). With her two assists Tinnin now has four this season which leads the team.

The Sun Devils return to action on Sunday (noon CT/10 a.m. PT) when they face Nebraska in Lincoln. The Huskers are also 5-1-1 after defeating South Dakota 9-0 on Friday.