UP NEXT
The Arizona State women's soccer team (6-6-2, 1-4-1 Pac-12) goes on its final road trip of the regular season this week when the Sun Devils travel to the Pacific Northwest for the second time in three weeks to take on Oregon State (5-8-2, 0-6-0 Pac-12) on Thursday at 7 p.m. PT and Oregon (6-8-1, 0-6-0 Pac-12) on Sunday at 1 p.m. PT.
This week's games will conclude a stretch in which the Sun Devils will have played five of their first eight conference games away from home. ASU will conclude the regular season by playing its final three games at home – vs. No. 10 Cal (Oct. 27), vs. No. 3 Stanford (Oct. 30) and vs. Arizona (Nov. 4) in the annual Territorial Cup Series matchup. The game vs. Stanford will be the team's Senior Day in which senior student-athletes Mckenzie Grossman, Lucy Lara, Ashley March, Larisa Staub and Annie Warren will be honored.
This week's road trip will be a homecoming for junior defender Taylor Coon (Portland, Ore., Sunset) and freshman forward Christina Edwards (Bend, Ore., Summit), who both hail from the state of Oregon. Also, returning to familiar territory is first-year assistant coach Colleen Boyd, who was a standout goalkeeper for the Beavers. The 2012 graduate earned NSCAA All-American honors, All-Pac 12 honors and All-West Region honors during her time in Corvallis.
COVERAGE
There will not be any live video/audio coverage of Thursday's game at Oregon State. Sunday's game at Oregon can be viewed at this link: http://pac-12.com/live/university-oregon. Fans can also follow on Twitter (@ASUSoccer) for live, in-game updates from both of this weekend's contests.
LAST WEEK
• The Sun Devils came through with a determined, spirited effort against sixth-ranked USC, but came up short in their bid to upset the Trojans, who scored both of their goals in the second half to come away with a 2-0 win.
• The game was nearly even from a statistical perspective as the Trojans had a slight 11-9 edge in shots over the Sun Devils (while both teams had five shots on goal.
• Larisa Staub, Aly Moon and Christina Edwards led ASU with two shots each. Also recording shots were Madison Stark, Lucy Lara and Natalie Stephens.
• As has been the case throughout most of Pac-12 play, the Sun Devils were once again beset by bad luck on the injury front as they played Saturday's game without Jazmarie Mader, who leads the team with eight goals (tied for third in the Pac-12). Also missing time because of injury was Lara, who had started every game in the Sun Devil midfie. on Saturday
SERIES HISTORY
ASU holds an 12-6-1 advantage in the all-time series with Orgeon State. ASU's 1-0 win (goal by Cali Farquharson) last year in Tempe in 2014 was its first triumph over the Beavers since 2009. Jessica Raybe, Larisa Staub and Lucy Lara netted goals in last year's 3-0 win in Tempe
ASU is 11-6-3 all-time against Oregon. ASU has won five of the last seven meetings and had won three in a row prior to a 1-1 draw in 2014 in Tempe. Aly Moon's goal in the 87th minute helped send the game into overtime where the teams played to a tie. Former Sun Devils Cali Farquharson scored the only goal of last year's game in ASU's 1-0 win.
MADER LEADS SUN DEVIL ATTACK
Jazmarie Mader has emerged as ASU's offensive star in 2016. The junior forward, who came into this season with four goals in 39 career games (15 starts), has already tallied a team-high eight goals in 2016 (12 games). Mader was held out of ASU's games at Washington (Oct. 6) and vs. USC (Oct. 15). In her most recent outing, Mader scored her eighth goal of the season at Washington State (Oct. 9). Mader enters this weekend's games tied for third in the Pac-12 in goals (8) and tied for ninth in points (16). ASU's game vs. CSUF (Sept 16) snapped a six-game streak in which Mader scored a goal. She came within two games of tying former Sun Devil Cali Farquharson's school record of scoring a goal in eight straight games.
IN CASE YOU ARE JUST JOINING US
ASU entered the 2016 season looking to replace eight key contributors from last year's squad. Among the players lost to graduation were the program's No. 2 all-time leader in goals and points (Cali Farquharson), the program's all-time leader in career shutouts (Chandler Morris), three of the team's mainstays in the midfield (Tommi Goodman, Whitney Kanavel and Mackenzie Semerad) and three starting defenders (McKenzie Berryhill, Alyssa Martinez and Sara Tosti). Farquharson, Berryhill, Goodman, Semerad and Tosti all went on to play professionally.
ASU returns four full-time starters in 2016 who have all been impact players over the course of their respective careers. Leading the way are junior defender Madison Stark (2015 All-Pac-12 Honorable Mention and NSCAA Third-Team All-Region) and junior forward Aly Moon (2015 Pac-12 Honorable Mention). Stark has played in 53 (52 starts) of ASU's 52 games over the last three seasons (only game she missed was due to injury in 2015) while Moon (45 starts in 50 career games) is ASU's active career leader in goals (16) and points (45). Stark did not play in the second half of ASU's 1-0 loss vs. Colorado (Oct. 2) after she collided with fellow defender Mckenzie Grossman as the two went up to challenge a CU player for a ball in the air. Moon left the second half of ASU's game at UCLA (Sept. 22) after a collision with UCLA's goalkeeper. She did not play in ASU's 1-1 tie vs. Utah (Sept. 29) and its 1-0 loss to Colorado (Oct. 2). She returned for ASU's game at Washington (Oct. 6) and made an immediate impact as she scored ASU's first goal of the game and assisted on Larisa Staub's game-tying goal in the 87th minute. She would sit out ASU's ensuing 2-1 loss (2OT) at Washington State (Oct. 9), but returned for its game vs. USC (Oct. 15).
Senior midfielder Lucy Lara is ASU's most experienced player in the midfield – 66 career games/44 starts – and active career leader in assists with 14. Lara scored a goal and assisted on another in ASU's 4-0 win over Loyola Chicago (Aug. 26). She also added assists in ASU's wins over NIU (Sept. 11) and at Washington (Oct. 6) and scored her second goal of the season in ASU's win over CSUF (Sept. 16). Lara did not play in the first half and was limited to only 23 minutes in ASU's game vs. USC (Oct. 15) ending Lara's streak of 13 straight starts.
ASU's most experienced defender (59 starts in 70 career contests), Grossman was named the team's Defensive MVP in 2015. She missed only the third game of her career (held out for precautionary reasons) in ASU's 2-0 loss at UCLA in the Sun Devils' Pac-12 opener (Sept. 22). It snapped a streak of 48 straight games in which she played. Grossman did not play in the second half of ASU's 1-0 loss vs. Colorado after the aforementioned collision with Stark. She returned to start ASU's next contest at Washington (Oct. 6) and played all 105 minutes.
Other returners adding to ASU's offensive firepower include junior forward Jessica Raybe, who finished second on the team in goals (5) and fourth on the team in points (10) in 2015, senior forward Larisa Staub (five career goals) and sophomore midfielder Adriana Orozco, who is currently second on the team with three goals.
DEVILS HAVE HAD SEVERAL CONTRIBUTORS ON OFFENSIVE END
ASU has had eight different players score goals this season. In addition to Mader (8), also finding the back of the net this season have been Orozco (3), Lara (2), junior midfielder Madison Kmetko (2), Moon (2), Staub (2), freshman forward Christina Edwards (1) and Raybe (1). Mader currently leads ASU in points (14/seven goals) while Orozco is second with eight (three goals, two assists).
WORKING LOTS OF OVERTIME
ASU has played five overtime games this year and in those five games the Sun Devils are 1-2-2. Three of those five OT contests have come in ASU's last five games – vs. Utah (T, 1-1/2OT), at Washington (W, 3-2/2OT), at Washington State (L, 1-2/2OT) – and all three have gone to double-overtime. ASU is 1-1-1 in those games.
NEW FACES PATROLLING THE NET
ASU entered fall camp with three players – redshirt junior Megan Delaney, sophomore Sydney Day and Malsy (redshirt junior Ashley March was sidelined due to injury) – vying to take the place of Chandler Morris, who was ASU's starter at goalkeeper the last four seasons and ended her career as the team's all-time leader in career shutouts.
A two-year starter at Texas A&M Corpus Christi before joining the Sun Devils last spring, Delaney would go on to earn the spot and started each of the first five games. Delaney proved to be more than up to the challenge as she combined for 15 saves in her first two games. She collected her first shutout as a Sun Devil in ASU's 4-0 win over Loyola Chicago (Aug. 26) and added another in ASU's 3-0 win over Columbia (Sept. 2). The 10 saves Delaney made in ASU's 1-1 tie at Boston College (Aug. 21) represent the third-highest, single-game total in the Pac-12 in 2016. Day played all of ASU's exhibition contest vs. Beijing Normal (Aug. 27) and Malsy started the second half of ASU's game vs. Denver (Sept. 4) and went on to start each of ASU's next seven games. Malsy earned her first career shutout vs. NIU on Sept. 11 and added another vs. CSUF on (Sept. 16). Malsy has made five or more saves five times, including a season-high six in ASU's Pac-12 opener at UCLA (Sept. 22).
Delaney got the starting nod in ASU's most recent contest, a 2-1 setback at Washington State in 2OT. She made 12 saves against the Cougars, which tied the single-game high in the Pac-12 this season. She also started ASU's most recent contest vs. USC (Oct. 15) and made three saves.
COLLEEN BOYD JOINS SUN DEVIL SOCCER COACHING STAFF
Colleen Boyd joined the Sun Devil soccer coaching staff in March after serving as an assistant coach for two seasons at CSUN. Boyd's primary responsibility was working with the goalkeepers. Under her tutelage, Matador goalkeepers went from posting two shutouts in 2013 (the season before her arrival) to a combined 15 over the next two seasons. Boyd's instruction also played a major role in the marked improvement CSUN had in goals-against average going from 1.64 in 2013 to a combined 1.12 in 2014 and 2015. Most importantly, CSUN's 11 wins in 2015 tied the second-highest win total in program history. In July, Boyd was selected for the National Soccer Coaches Association of America's 30 Under 30 Program. Boyd was chosen for the program from a pool of 350 applicants. This year's group of coaches (comprised of 15 men and 15 women) comes from the youth game through the college ranks. The NSCAA 30 Under 30 program is designed to give participants exposure to the Association's membership, and the opportunity to take advantage of educational offerings, such as diplomas and the NSCAA Convention.
NEW ADDITIONS
In February Kevin Boyd announced ASU's signing class of Christina Edwards, Olivia Hernandez, Devyn Kelsey, Emma Malsy, and Hailey Zerbel.
"Once again we think we have put together a very good class, not only in the talent that they bring, but the character that they bring," said Boyd, when the class was signed. "We are losing 10 players to graduation, five of which are going on to professional careers so there is a lot of great talent that we have to replace. We feel like the players that make up this class have the potential to not just simply step in and fill a void, but to come in and have an immediate impact in our program."
A two-time 5A Girls State Player of the Year (2014, 2015) for Summit High School (Bend, Oregon), Edwards' career statistics with Summit included 70 goals/29 assists. In her first game as a Sun Devil, Edwards accounted for a goal (ASU's first of 2016) and an assist in the span of less than three minutes in ASU's 2-1, season-opening win at Boston University (Aug. 19). She assisted on Jazmarie Mader's game-tying goal in the 81st minute of ASU's 1-1 tie vs. Utah (Sept. 29).
Kelsey, out of Los Osos High School (Rancho Cucamonga, California), was selected for the U18 U.S. and U19 U.S. National Team Camps. She was a team captain in 2015-2016 and was a three-time team MVP. Kelsey has started all 14 contests this season. She recorded her first career assist at Boston College (Aug. 21), setting up Jazmarie Mader's goal.
Named to the Arizona Republic's 2016 All-State (Division II) First Team, Hernandez scored 141 goals for Westview High School (Avondale, Arizona). She spent four years with the ODP state team (2012-15), where she was a part of the 2015 Region IV Team and Interregional Tournament All-Star Team. Hernandez recorded her first career assist at Boston University (Aug. 19), setting up fellow freshman Edwards. She added her second assist (set up Adriana Orozco's goal) in ASU's win over Loyola Chicago (Aug. 26) and is currently tied with Edwards, Kylie Miniefield, Moon, Orozco, and Natalie Stephens for third on the team lead in assists (2).
Malsy was a four-year starting varsity goalkeeper and team captain for Ocean View High School (Huntington Beach, California), who earned All-CIF Southern Section Division 5 distinction in 2016. Malsy made her Sun Devil debut on Sept. 4 as she started the second half of ASU's contest vs. Denver. She would go on to start ASU's next seven games (earned first career shutout vs. NIU on Sept. 11 and added another vs. CSUF on Sept. 16).
Zerbel was named 2016 Palomares League and CIF-SS Division 3 MVP following a season in which she helped lead her South Hills High School (West Covina, California) team to the CIF-Southern Section Division 3 championship, and CIF-State Southern California Region Division III title for the first time in school history. Zerbel has played in all 14 contests at outside back and has recorded six starts thus far.
ADDITIONAL NOTES
• Three Sun Devils have started every game this season: Fr. D Devyn Kelsey, RS Fr. M Kylie Miniefield, Jr. and So. F Natalie Stephens. Miniefield, who missed all of 2015 due to a knee injury, has started every game in the Sun Devil midfield this season. Grossman (13/13) and Mader (12/12) have both started every game they have played in. Other Sun Devils who have started at least half the games this season include Jr. D Madison Stark (14 games/13 starts), Jr. F Aly Moon (11/9), Jr. F Jessica Raybe (14/11) and junior defender Taylor Coon (12/8).
• Both of Jr. M Madison Kmetko's goals have come this season. She scored the game-winning goal in the 105th minute of ASU's 3-2 (2OT) 3-2 win at Washington (Oct. 6).
• In its first four losses of the season ASU outshot the opposition a combined 63-40 and had a 27-12 advantage in corner kicks, but was outscored 8-2 in the four games.
• ASU's earlier streak of scoring at least one goal in eight straight games was its longest in-season streak since it scored in each of its first 13 games in 2014. ASU's 2-0 loss at No. 11 UCLA (Sept. 22) represented the first time ASU did not score a goal this season.
• Going back to 2012, ASU has won 41 of the 49 contests in which it has scored first (41-4-3). ASU's 2-1 loss at Washington on Oct. 10, 2014 ended a 24-game unbeaten streak for ASU in games in which it had scored first (22-0-2). The other games ASU has not won in the aforementioned stretch are a 1-1 tie at Oregon State (Oct. 19, 2012), a 1-1 tie vs. top-ranked UCLA (Sept. 26, 2014), a 2-1 loss at USC (Oct. 9, 2015), a 2-1 overtime loss at Utah (Oct. 30, 2015), a 1-1 tie at Boston College (Aug. 21, 2016) a 2-1 loss (2OT) vs. San Francisco (Sept. 9, 2016) and a 2-1 (2OT) loss at Washington State (Oct. 9).
• ASU's 2016 schedule includes nine teams that made it to the NCAA Tournament last year: Arizona (third round), Boston University (second round), Boston College (first round), California (first round), Cal State Fullerton (first round), Stanford (fourth round), USC (third round), Washington (first round) and Washington State (first round). Of ASU's 19 regular season opponents, 11 had winning records last season.
• After finishing tied for sixth last season, the Sun Devils were picked to finish eighth in the Pac-12 by the league's coaches.
ACADEMIC SUCCESS
Since 2007 (Kevin Boyd's first season at ASU) the Sun Devil soccer program leads the Pac-12 in the number of All-Academic first-team awards (25) and the number of first- and second-team awards (39). ASU has had 10 or more players named to the league's All-Academic teams in all nine of Boyd's seasons as head coach. A program record 15 student-athletes earned Pac-12 All-Academic recognition in 2015. It broke the previous program record of 14 set by the 2011 squad. ASU's five combined first- (2) and second-team (3) awards were the most of any school in the conference in 2015.