TEMPE, Ariz. – Arizona State University women’s soccer senior defender Sara Tosti was named the Pac-12’s Defensive Player of the Week, according to an announcement by the conference office on Tuesday.
Tosti played all 180 minutes and contributed to a defensive effort that posted two shutouts over the weekend in ASU’s wins over Oregon State on Friday (3-0) and Oregon on Sunday (1-0).
In Friday’s win, Tosti helped the back line allow only six shots to record the team’s fifth shutout out of the season. In addition, the shutout gave Chandler Morris her 24th career shutout enabling the redshirt senior goalkeeper to take over sole possession of first place in the school’s record book for most career shutouts.
On Sunday, Tosti once again helped anchor the defense from her center-back spot as she helped limit the Ducks to only one shot in the first half. In the second half, her play was even more critical as a red card put the Sun Devils in a position where they had to play the last 43-plus minutes of the game with only 10 players while trying to protect a one-goal lead. Tosti, along with fellow defenders Mckenzie Grossman, Alyssa Martinez, Madison Stark and Taylor Coon all helped contribute to limit Oregon’s opportunities while Morris came up with six clutch saves in the second frame.
This is the second time that Tosti has won a Pac-12 Player of the Week award. In 2013 she earned Pac-12 Offensive Player of the Week recogntion after she scored the game-winning goal in ASU’s historic 1-0 upset of second-ranked Standford that ended the Cardinal’s 73-game unbeaten streak at home.
Winners of three straight and unbeaten in their last four games (3-0-1) the Sun Devils (7-7-1, 3-4-1 Pac-12) will look to continue their push for the NCAA Tournament when they begin a three-game road trip to close out the regular season at Utah on Friday (7 p.m. MT/6 p.m. PT). The game can be seen via live stream at http://pac-12.com/live/university-utah.