UP NEXT
The Arizona State women's soccer team plays the second of three consecutive home games to close out the regular season on Sunday (3 p.m. PT) when it hosts third-ranked Stanford at Sun Devil Soccer Stadium. Sunday's game will be the team's annual Senior Day. Sun Devil soccer senior student-athletes Mckenzie Grossman, Lucy Lara, Ashley March, Larisa Staub and Annie Warren will be honored in a ceremony prior to the game.
The Sun Devils will conclude the 2016 season with the annual Territorial Cup Series game vs. Arizona on Friday (Nov. 4) at 3 p.m.
PROMOTION
Fans attending Sunday's game will receive a free Senior Day poster.
COVERAGE
Sunday's game vs. Stanford can be seen live Pac-12 Network. Daron Sutton and Tracey Bailey will call the action.
LAST GAME
• The Sun Devils dropped their fifth consecutive game, falling to No. 18 Cal 2-0.
• Although the Bears outshot the Sun Devils 11-8, ASU was able to create more quality looks as it ended the game with a 5-3 advantage in shots on goal.
• Cal broke through in the 75th minute on a long-distance goal and added an insurance goal on a penalty kick in the 84th minute to capture the win.
• ASU's starting lineup vs. Cal included two players – freshman Olivia Hernandez (forward) and sophomore Madison Wolf (midfield) – who were making their first career start. The Sun Devils also welcomed Lucy Lara (midfield) back to the lineup after the team's active leader in career assists missed both of last week's games in Oregon due to injury. Still inactive were ASU's leading goal scorer this season (Jazmarie Mader) and its active leader in career goals and points (Aly Moon).
SERIES HISTORY
Stanford leads the all-time series 14-4-3. The Cardinal has won 2-0 decisions each of the last two seasons in Tempe. In 2013, ASU defeated Stanford 1-0 and ended the Cardinal's 73-game unbeaten streak at home and its 44-game winning streak in conference play. Former Sun Devil Sara Tosti scored the game's only goal in the 24th minute while former Sun Devil Chandler Morris made seven saves in the 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). Unfortunately for the Sun Devils, Mader has not been available recently due to injury as she was held out of ASU's games at Washington (Oct. 6), vs. USC (Oct. 15) at Oregon State (Oct. 20) and at Oregon (Oct. 23). In her most recent outing, Mader scored her eighth goal of the season at Washington State (Oct. 9), also the last time ASU scored a goal. Mader is currently tied for third in the Pac-12 in goals per game (0.67) and tied for seventh in points per game (1.33). 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.
MADISON STARK NAMED TO COSIDA ACADEMIC ALL-DISTRICT FIRST TEAM
Sun Devil Soccer junior defender Madison Stark was named to the CoSIDA Academic All-District 8 first team, according to an announcement by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) earlier this week.
Stark, a Journalism and Mass Communication major who maintains a perfect 4.0 GPA, has played in 56 of ASU's 58 games (55 starts) over the last three seasons (only game she missed was due to injury in 2015). Last season she earned All-Pac-12 honorable mention recognition and NSCAA Third-Team All-Pacific Region honors following a season in which she started all 18 games she played in. Stark was also named to the Pac-12's All-Academic First Team.
Stark had a tremendous freshman season in 2014 as she started all 22 games and played more minutes (1,984) than any player on the team.
Her first career goal was the game-winner in ASU's 1-0 Territorial Cup Series win over Arizona (Nov. 7, 2014).
The Academic All-District teams are divided into eight geographic districts across the United States and Canada. As a First-team Academic All-District honoree Stark will advance to the CoSIDA Academic All-America® Team ballot, where first-, second- and third- team All-America honorees will be selected later this month.
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 56 of ASU's 58 games (55 starts) 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). She has not played since, missing each of ASU's last three games.
Senior midfielder Lucy Lara is ASU's most experienced player in the midfield – 67 career games/45 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. Lara did not play in either of ASU's games on its road trip to Oregon last week. She returned and started against No. 18 Cal (Oct. 27).
ASU's most experienced defender (62 starts in 73 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 came during an earlier four-game stretch – vs. Utah (T, 1-1/2OT), at Washington (W, 3-2/2OT), at Washington State (L, 1-2/2OT).
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 was reinserted as the starter in ASU's 2-1 setback at Washington State in 2OT (Oct. 6) and also started ASU's ensuing contests vs. USC and at Oregon State. Delaney made 12 saves against the Cougars, which tied the single-game high in the Pac-12 this season.
Malsy got the starting nod in ASU's game at Oregon (Oct. 23) and Delaney started the following game vs. No. 18 Cal (Oct. 27).
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. 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). She started for the first time at Oregon (Oct. 23).
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 is the only Sun Devil who has started every games 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). She also started ASU's game at Oregon (Oct. 23).
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 16 contests with seven starts. She has played in every game this season.
ADDITIONAL NOTES
• Freshman D Devyn Kelsey is the only Sun Devil to start every game this season.
• Redshirt freshman Kylie Miniefield, who missed all of 2015 due to a knee injury, started the first 16 games in the Sun Devil midfield. Grossman (16/16), Miniefield (16/16) and Mader (12/12) have 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 (17 games/16 starts), So. F Natalie Stephens (17/15), RSr. M Lucy Lara (15/14), Jr. F Jessica Raybe (17/13), Jr. F Aly Moon (11/9), and junior defender Taylor Coon (15/11).
• 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.