By Craig Morgan, thesundevils.com Writer
TEMPE, Ariz. – Arizona State women's soccer coach Kevin Boyd understands why analysts and outsiders believe his team is in rebuilding mode.
"You mean because we lost 10 players and five of them went pro?" Boyd said with a smile.
Yeah. That.
"What I'm trying to make people understand is that the layer right underneath those players was good to very good," Boyd said. "They just were untested. They hadn't really gotten an opportunity so they needed a little time to grow into their roles; they needed a spring, but we internally knew they were very good."
The Sun Devils' next wave finally got the chance to show off its wares on the field in a two-game road series against Boston University and Boston College last weekend that produced a 2-1 win and a 1-1 tie. Now the Devils will open the home portion of their season on Friday against Loyola Chicago in Tempe.
"For the freshmen it's always a huge game because it's their first home game at ASU, but for me and the other seniors, it's our last first home game so it has meaning for us, too," redshirt senior midfielder Lucy Lara said. "We're trying not to put too much pressure on ourselves by thinking about that stuff. We have a lot to focus on already so it's just about winning that game and nothing else."
When the season began, Boyd had significant questions about three positions: goalkeeper, left back and holding midfielder, but those questions were all answered last weekend by the performances of redshirt junior Megan Delaney, freshman Hailey Zerbel and redshirt freshman Kylie Miniefield.
"Megan looked great; there were no shaky moments and I was really thankful and happy about that," Boyd said. "What's great about not worrying about those positions any more is we can focus more on developing our team as a whole and developing our line so we can go deeper."
Depth and grit will be the Sun Devils' trademarks this season. Both were on display last weekend.
"My main takeaway was that, yes there was a starting 11 but as soon as we subbed we started scoring goals," Lara said. "I give credit to the starting 11 for starting the games right but give credit to the people coming off bench making who made our intensity rise. We're all competitive and the depth in our bench is amazing right now."
The Devils' grit is a direct reflection of their coach, who made it farther than many of his peers with what he admitted were lesser skills.
"I believe you're going to get places if you work really hard and this team looks like that kind of team," Boyd said. "But I also value the skillful players. As a coach that's what I look for because that's not what I was so I really appreciate it, but I want to put more of who I am into the skillful players if I can."
Boyd assumed that his vaunted recruiting class from a year would take on greater roles this season, and that has happened already with defender Devyn Kelsey starting both games and assisting on a goal against BC, while Zerbel started against BU and forward Christina Edwards had a goal and an assist against BU. That said, Boyd knows he will also have rocks to depend on like Lara and midfielder Aly Moon, who is adjusting to a new position.
"There's a big difference defensively from being a forward to a midfielder," said Moon who has not played this position consistently in about three years. But I think this position probably suits me more because I'm more of a player who likes to get the ball at my feet and then distribute, rather than running through the defense or scoring a lot of goals."
Boyd knows there will be a learning curve as his team builds chemistry, but he believes the team's work ethic will sustain it while the soccer "is not so pretty."
"What I keep telling them is 'be who we are,'" Boyd said. "We're a pretty competitive bunch and as long as we keep that approach every single day we play, I think we'll be quite good."
Follow Craig Morgan on Twitter
TEMPE, Ariz. – Arizona State women's soccer coach Kevin Boyd understands why analysts and outsiders believe his team is in rebuilding mode.
"You mean because we lost 10 players and five of them went pro?" Boyd said with a smile.
Yeah. That.
"What I'm trying to make people understand is that the layer right underneath those players was good to very good," Boyd said. "They just were untested. They hadn't really gotten an opportunity so they needed a little time to grow into their roles; they needed a spring, but we internally knew they were very good."
The Sun Devils' next wave finally got the chance to show off its wares on the field in a two-game road series against Boston University and Boston College last weekend that produced a 2-1 win and a 1-1 tie. Now the Devils will open the home portion of their season on Friday against Loyola Chicago in Tempe.
"For the freshmen it's always a huge game because it's their first home game at ASU, but for me and the other seniors, it's our last first home game so it has meaning for us, too," redshirt senior midfielder Lucy Lara said. "We're trying not to put too much pressure on ourselves by thinking about that stuff. We have a lot to focus on already so it's just about winning that game and nothing else."
When the season began, Boyd had significant questions about three positions: goalkeeper, left back and holding midfielder, but those questions were all answered last weekend by the performances of redshirt junior Megan Delaney, freshman Hailey Zerbel and redshirt freshman Kylie Miniefield.
"Megan looked great; there were no shaky moments and I was really thankful and happy about that," Boyd said. "What's great about not worrying about those positions any more is we can focus more on developing our team as a whole and developing our line so we can go deeper."
Depth and grit will be the Sun Devils' trademarks this season. Both were on display last weekend.
"My main takeaway was that, yes there was a starting 11 but as soon as we subbed we started scoring goals," Lara said. "I give credit to the starting 11 for starting the games right but give credit to the people coming off bench making who made our intensity rise. We're all competitive and the depth in our bench is amazing right now."
The Devils' grit is a direct reflection of their coach, who made it farther than many of his peers with what he admitted were lesser skills.
"I believe you're going to get places if you work really hard and this team looks like that kind of team," Boyd said. "But I also value the skillful players. As a coach that's what I look for because that's not what I was so I really appreciate it, but I want to put more of who I am into the skillful players if I can."
Boyd assumed that his vaunted recruiting class from a year would take on greater roles this season, and that has happened already with defender Devyn Kelsey starting both games and assisting on a goal against BC, while Zerbel started against BU and forward Christina Edwards had a goal and an assist against BU. That said, Boyd knows he will also have rocks to depend on like Lara and midfielder Aly Moon, who is adjusting to a new position.
"There's a big difference defensively from being a forward to a midfielder," said Moon who has not played this position consistently in about three years. But I think this position probably suits me more because I'm more of a player who likes to get the ball at my feet and then distribute, rather than running through the defense or scoring a lot of goals."
Boyd knows there will be a learning curve as his team builds chemistry, but he believes the team's work ethic will sustain it while the soccer "is not so pretty."
"What I keep telling them is 'be who we are,'" Boyd said. "We're a pretty competitive bunch and as long as we keep that approach every single day we play, I think we'll be quite good."
Follow Craig Morgan on Twitter