SALT LAKE CITY - Utah Soccer was unable to hold on to a lead as Arizona State notched a second penalty kick in the 74
th minute and forced a 2-2 draw against the Utes.
"Our team fought very hard today," head coach
Rich Manning said. "We showed great character and spirit in coming back from the early deficit. The penalties were unfortunate but we created some excellent chances late and almost got the winner. Even though the results have not gone our way, we are improving and I look forward to our next two games."
Utah controlled the early going with
Hailey Skolmoski,
Paola van der Veen and
Ella Ballstaedt all creating chances in the first 20 minutes. However, ASU grabbed the lead after a foul in the box allowed Jemma Purfield to score a penalty kick for a 1-0 lead.
That seemed to spark the Sun Devils as Jazmarie Mader and Jessica Raybe tested the returning
July Mathias in goal. However, the junior stood tall and denied the chances.
Skolmoski had two more chances to score Utah's first goal but Nikki Panas made a pair of saves. The Utes finally got the equalizer in the 38
th minute courtesy of Van der Veen.
After an ASU foul,
Natalee Wells played the ball out wide to
Aleea Gwerder. She lofted a pass into the penalty area and Van der Veen got her toe to the ball before Panas and chipped it in to tie the score.
Utah grabbed the lead in the second half as
Jessica Hixson drew a penalty, the second of the day and first for Utah. Van der Veen calmly stepped up and drilled her second goal of the game and eighth of the season.
Utah stayed on the attack with Van der Veen having a pair of attempts saved by Panas. Skolmoski had three more looks as she tried to get on the board but could not add to the Utah lead.
At the other end, Mathias made three more saves to preserve the lead until ASU was awarded the third penalty kick of the afternoon. The Utah goalkeeper made five saves, playing her first match in almost two months.
After Purfield knotted the score for ASU, the Utes dominated the final 15 minutes of regulation and both overtime periods.
Natalie Vukic had the best chance before the extra sessions and in the first overtime, Skolmoski headed wide before
Tavia Leachman did the same off a corner kick.
Panas made sure that ASU secured the road point with saves on Skolmoski and
Eden Jacobsen in the second overtime.
Utah plays its final two road games this upcoming weekend. The Utes open with Oregon on Thursday night at 7 p.m. PT