Aug. 31, 2001

Stats

WACO, Texas - Arizona State's Patrice Feulner scored all three goals in the game as the 21st-ranked Sun Devils shut out the Baylor soccer team in the Bears' season opener Friday night, 3-0.

Feulner scored twice in the first half as Arizona State (1-0) built a 2-0 lead, then scored once more in the second half while ASU goalie Kristin Slater blanked the Bears (0-1) for her first shutout of the year.

Feulner's first two goals came on nearly identical plays, as she broke through a line of Baylor defenders for a one-on-one against Baylor goalkeeper Mel Pannell. Each time, she was able to shoot the ball past a drawn-out Pannell for the score.

Pannell was one of nine Baylor freshmen who saw their first collegiate action Friday evening, including four rookies in the starting lineup (Pannell, Ginny Rosario-Tull, Kristin Ruef and April Robertson).

"The energy level on our freshmen was good, but their inexperience showed in their ball-handling," Baylor head coach Nick Cowell said after the game. "None of them had played a team like this before.

"Our second half was something to build on. We'll put the first half away, but we can build on our second half play," Cowell said.

The Bears had several offensive threats, but quick play by the Sun Devils held Baylor at bay for the entire 90 minutes, preventing a crowd of 826 fans at Betty Lou Mays Soccer Field (the fifth-largest crowd in school history) from really getting into the game.

Perhaps the worst break of the evening for Baylor was the loss of Pannell to injury. The goalie collided with ASU's Andrea Waite while recording a save and subsequently left the game with a reoccurrence of a previous shoulder injury. With sophomore Emily Koch also recuperating from injury, sophomore Amber Watkins took over in goal for the Bears and will likely start Sunday when Baylor hosts Furman at 7:30 p.m.