Soccer ties school record in closeout win over NAU

What a difference a year makes.

Rewind back to the 2010 season opener between Arizona State and Northern Arizona as the Sun Devils found themselves in a back-and-forth contest in which they scored a goal in the final minute to slip by the Lumberjacks 4-3.

There would be no such drama or any last-minute heroics needed on Friday as the Sun Devils exploded for six goals in the second half on their way to a 7-0 win over NAU.

Sierra Cook (two goals) and freshman Alexandra Doller (two goals) combined for four of ASU's goals in the second half as the Sun Devils dominated in every phase of the game holding decisive advantages in shots (28-1) and corner kicks (11-1).

The seven goals ASU generated tied the school record, which was set and then equaled in consecutive weeks by the 2000 squad, which defeated Pittsburgh 7-0 on Sept. 10, 2000 and then followed that up with a 7-0 win over Eastern Michigan on Sept. 17.

On Friday the Sun Devils were aggressive right from the start as they attacked the NAU goal time and again. ASU's approach paid off immediately five minutes into the game when Jasmine Roth's shot into the far post found its mark to give ASU a 1-0 advantage.

Although ASU got off 14 shots in the first half, Roth's goal would be the only one in the first 45 minutes.

However in the second half the Sun Devils would see better returns on their shots as they struck with a trio of two-goal flurries.

Devin Marshall began the offensive assault 3:30 into the second half when she took a pass from Holland Crook, made a move and found herself with a clear shot at the net to give ASU a 2-0 lead.

A little more than three minutes later it was Cook finding the back of the net to give ASU a 3-0 advantage.

Cook would then begin ASU's next scoring burst when she connected on a header in the 65th minute to extend ASU's advantage to 4-0. Less than 30 seconds later it was Doller who joined in on the scoring as she registered the first goal of her career to make it a five-goal game.

The freshmen duo of Sarah Van Horn (75th minute) and Doller (77th minute) would close out the scoring for the Sun Devils as they accounted for their goals in the space of 1:46 to make the final count 7-0.

Cook's two goals tied her single-game career high, which she set during her freshman season in 2008.

With the win the Sun Devils are now 5-0 in season openers under head coach Kevin Boyd and are now 14-3-4 in games played in August-September going back to the 2009 season.

The Sun Devils return to action next Sunday (Aug. 28) when they host No. 21 South Carolina at 1 p.m. at Sun Devil Soccer Stadium.