ASU women's soccer plays Texas to tie

September 14, 2008

The Arizona State women's soccer team remained undefeated in its last three games after playing the No. 7 Texas Longhorns to a 0-0 tie on Sunday. The Sun Devils (3-2-2) were coming off a hard-fought 1-0 win over Baylor on Friday night while the Longhorns had not played since last Sunday when they defeated Arizona 2-1 in double overtime. Texas was originally scheduled to play Houston earlier this weekend, however the match was cancelled due to the threat of Hurricane Ike. "We faced some big challenges today," said ASU head coach <a href="http://thesundevils.cstv.com/sports/w-soccer/mtt/boyd_kevin00.html">Kev… Boyd</a>. "For us it was just a matter of getting through the first half because we were facing the wind and a fresh team. We picked it up in the second half and I think we dominated them in the overtime. I thought this team showed great character today." Junior goalkeeper <a href="http://thesundevils.cstv.com/sports/w-soccer/mtt/silvestri_briana00.htm… Silvestri</a> made seven saves for the Sun Devils in collecting her third consecutive shutout. "[Briana] was the player of the match," said Boyd. "It was all her in the first half. If she hadn't done what she did on the crosses they were attempting and the shots they had on goal then we would not have been talking about a tie." The Longhorns (5-0-1) outshot ASU 21-17, however the Sun Devils held an 8-5 advantage in the two overtime periods, including a plus-four advantage (6-2) in the final 10 minutes. Sophomore <a href="http://thesundevils.cstv.com/sports/w-soccer/mtt/volpe_karin00.html">Ka… Volpe</a> led the Sun Devils with five shots, including one that nearly gave the Sun Devils the victory in the closing seconds of the second overtime. "I thought she had a goal," said Boyd. "She slid in there and the keeper got her fingertips on it and knocked it wide. That would have been remarkable to score in the final two seconds. That would have capped off a remarkable effort on our part." Sunday's game concluded a three-week span in which the Sun Devils played five of their first seven games of the season on the road. Next Friday's game against CSU Northridge (7 p.m.) will be the first of seven consecutive contests that ASU will play at home.