Williams, Wildcats Take Down Sun Devils, 2-1

Friday, August 31

Tempe, Ariz.

10 PM (ET)

University of New Hampshire

3-2-0

Arizona State

1-1-0

UNH

Arizona State

Kaylan Williams (photo by Audrey Powell)

Photo by: Audrey Powell

9/1/2018 12:42:00 AM | Women's Soccer

Box Score

The Wildcats tally their first victory over the Pac-12.

TEMPE, Ariz. – The University of New Hampshire women's soccer team, on a two-game losing skid, traveled to Tempe, Arizona for the Sun Devil Desert Classic, where they defeated host school Arizona State by a score of 2-1 on Friday evening.

New Hampshire junior Kaylan Williams (Marion, Ind.) tallied her first goal of the season, and it would end up being the game-winner. Williams also set up a penalty kick that was scored by Ally Reynolds (Weymouth, Mass.), her third of the season.

Graduate student Mia Neas (Old Saybrook, Conn.) made three saves and took command of the box in the final minutes of the game to preserve the win for the Wildcats.

GAME INFORMATION:
Date: Aug. 31, 2018
Location: Sun Devil Soccer Stadium – Tempe, Ariz.
Attendance: 1093
Score: UNH 2 (3-2-0), ASU 1 (1-1-0)

HOW IT HAPPENED:

The game started off with the Sun Devils controlling the ball and the pace of play for the early going.
Kaylan Williams took a turnover into the box, and was fouled, giving Ally Reynolds the Wildcats' first shot on goal of the game; Reynolds buried the PK to put the 'Cats up 1-0 25:41 into the game.
Just 32 seconds later, Williams noticed the ASU keeper was off her line and fired in a shot from well beyond the 18. The ball sailed just out of reach of the keeper, putting the 'Cats up 2-0 in the 27^th minute.
Early in the second, ASU answered back off a corner kick; the ricochet came out to the top of the 18 and a shot over the crowd bounced in off the crossbar.
The Sun Devils had several opportunities to tie the game in the 60^th to 63^rd minutes, but the Wildcats' defense held strong and prevented the equalizer.
ASU's Shimmer had a prime one-on-one opportunity in the 68^th minute but the UNH backline closed in and she forced her shot which sailed high over the crossbar.
Several more service attempts came into the box for ASU late in the half but Neas was able to grab them out of the air and stop the threat.
Arizona State got one more chance in the 89^th minute but a no-look back heel flick was blocked.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS:

ASU outshot UNH 13-7 overall, but shots on goal were even at 4-4.
There were only 32 seconds between the Wildcats' two goals, making them the quickest two goals for UNH this season.

BEYOND THE BOX SCORE:

The Wildcats lead the all-time series with the Sun Devils, 1-0-0.
Williams' goal was her third game-winning goal of her career.
The victory was the first regulation victory for UNH this season.
New Hampshire ends August with a 3-2-0 record. The 'Cats went 3-1-0 last August, and 3-2-0 in as many games.

NEW HAMPSHIRE VS. THE POWER FIVE

New Hampshire now has three wins against schools in a power-5 conference (Big 10, Big 12, SEC, ACC, Pac-12)
The first two wins came in the 1980s, with a victory over ACC foes Duke (9/16/89, 3-2) and Maryland (10/16/88, 2-1 in OT).
With their win over ASU, New Hampshire tallied it's third win over a power-five school in program history, and their first against the Pac-12.

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