UP NEXT
The Arizona State women's soccer team (6-4-2, 1-2-1 Pac-12) will attempt to reach the .500 mark in conference play on Sunday (11 a.m. PT) when it plays at Washington State in a contest that will be televised live by Pac-12 Washington.
After finishing the non-conference portion of their schedule with a 5-2-1 record, the Sun Devils dropped their Pac-12 opener 2-0 at UCLA (Sept. 22). Last week they tied Utah 1-1 (2OT) and were edged by Colorado 1-0. On Thursday ASU got its first Pac-12 win of the season after coming from behind to defeat Washington 3-2 (2OT).
Like the Sun Devils, the Cougars (5-6-1, 0-4 Pac-12) also went 5-2-1 in non-conference play. Five of their six losses have come by one goal, including a 2-1, double-overtime loss to current No. 5 BYU in their season opener.
The Sun Devils are currently in a stretch in which they are playing five of their first eight Pac-12 contests away from home. After Sunday's game the Sun Devils will return home to host current No. 7 USC (Oct. 15) before going back on the road for games at Oregon State (Oct. 20) and Oregon (Oct. 23).
COVERAGE
Sunday's game at Washington State can be seen live on Pac-12 Washington (Troy Clardy and Danielle Slaton will have the call). A tape-delayed broadcast of ASU's game at Washington State will air on Pac-12 Arizona at 5 p.m. Fans can also follow on Twitter (@ASUSoccer) for in-game updates from both games.
LAST GAME
• Madison Kmetko's goal in the 105th minute of play gave the Sun Devils their first Pac-12 win on Thursday as they came from behind to defeat the Washington Huskies, 3-2 in double overtime.
• Aly Moon (28'/2nd goal of 2016), Larisa Staub (87'/2nd) and Kmetko (105'/2nd) all scored for the Sun Devils, who were officially credited with five shots in the game. Moon scored the first goal of the game, but the Huskies would answer with the next two goals (40', 52') before Staub tied it. After not playing since a collision in the second half of ASU's Pac-12 opener at UCLA, Moon, ASU's active career leader in goals (16) and points (45), accounted for three points in scoring ASU's first goal and then assisting on Staub's game-tying goal.
• ASU played Thursday's game without its leading scorer Jazmarie Mader who was held out for precautionary reasons.
• ASU's win over Washington represented the second time in as many years that the Sun Devils recorded a double-OT win over UW in Seattle.
SERIES HISTORY
The Sun Devils lead the all-time series against the Cougars 12-8-1. The two teams combined for only two goals in the three meetings prior to Washington State's 2-1 win last season in Tempe. In last year's game the Sun Devils outshot WSU 24-6, including 15-1 advantage during a scoreless first half. The Cougars scored both of their goals in the first eight minutes of the second half. Current Sun Devil Larisa Staub got ASU on the board in the 66th minute, but the Sun Devils were unable to find the equalizer over the last 24-plus minutes of the game. Neither team has scored more than two goals against the other since 2005, which is also the last time one team beat the other by more than one goal (ASU won 4-2 in Pullman).
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 seven goals in 2016 (11 games). Mader, who was held out of ASU's game at Washington (Oct. 6) as a precautionary measure, enters Sunday's game tied for third in the Pac-12 in goals (7) and tied for ninth in points (14). 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 51 (50 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 49 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.
Senior midfielder Lucy Lara is ASU's most experienced player in the midfield – 64 career games/43 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).
ASU's most experienced defender (57 starts in 68 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 (7), also finding the back of the next 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).
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 has started each of ASU's last 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).
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 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 12 contests at center back. 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 has started each of ASU's last 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 12 contests at outside back and has recorded six starts thus far.
ADDITIONAL NOTES
• Four Sun Devils have started every game this season: Fr. D Devyn Kelsey, RS Sr. M Lucy Lara, 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 (11/11) and Mader (11/11) have both started every game they have played in. Other Sun Devils with at least five starts this season include Jr. D Madison Stark (12 games/11 starts), Jr. F Aly Moon (9/10), Jr. F Jessica Raybe (9/12), Fr. D Hailey Zerbel (6/12) and junior defender Taylor Coon (6/12).
• The Sun Devils have outshot the opposition in nine of 12 games this season and have recorded more shots on goal in seven of those games. In addition, they have accumulated nearly double the amount of corner kicks as the opposition (71-38).
• Both of Jr. M Madison Kemetko'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 four losses this 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 48 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) and a 2-1 loss (2 OTs) vs. San Francisco (Sept. 9, 2016).
• 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.
The Arizona State women's soccer team (6-4-2, 1-2-1 Pac-12) will attempt to reach the .500 mark in conference play on Sunday (11 a.m. PT) when it plays at Washington State in a contest that will be televised live by Pac-12 Washington.
After finishing the non-conference portion of their schedule with a 5-2-1 record, the Sun Devils dropped their Pac-12 opener 2-0 at UCLA (Sept. 22). Last week they tied Utah 1-1 (2OT) and were edged by Colorado 1-0. On Thursday ASU got its first Pac-12 win of the season after coming from behind to defeat Washington 3-2 (2OT).
Like the Sun Devils, the Cougars (5-6-1, 0-4 Pac-12) also went 5-2-1 in non-conference play. Five of their six losses have come by one goal, including a 2-1, double-overtime loss to current No. 5 BYU in their season opener.
The Sun Devils are currently in a stretch in which they are playing five of their first eight Pac-12 contests away from home. After Sunday's game the Sun Devils will return home to host current No. 7 USC (Oct. 15) before going back on the road for games at Oregon State (Oct. 20) and Oregon (Oct. 23).
COVERAGE
Sunday's game at Washington State can be seen live on Pac-12 Washington (Troy Clardy and Danielle Slaton will have the call). A tape-delayed broadcast of ASU's game at Washington State will air on Pac-12 Arizona at 5 p.m. Fans can also follow on Twitter (@ASUSoccer) for in-game updates from both games.
LAST GAME
• Madison Kmetko's goal in the 105th minute of play gave the Sun Devils their first Pac-12 win on Thursday as they came from behind to defeat the Washington Huskies, 3-2 in double overtime.
• Aly Moon (28'/2nd goal of 2016), Larisa Staub (87'/2nd) and Kmetko (105'/2nd) all scored for the Sun Devils, who were officially credited with five shots in the game. Moon scored the first goal of the game, but the Huskies would answer with the next two goals (40', 52') before Staub tied it. After not playing since a collision in the second half of ASU's Pac-12 opener at UCLA, Moon, ASU's active career leader in goals (16) and points (45), accounted for three points in scoring ASU's first goal and then assisting on Staub's game-tying goal.
• ASU played Thursday's game without its leading scorer Jazmarie Mader who was held out for precautionary reasons.
• ASU's win over Washington represented the second time in as many years that the Sun Devils recorded a double-OT win over UW in Seattle.
SERIES HISTORY
The Sun Devils lead the all-time series against the Cougars 12-8-1. The two teams combined for only two goals in the three meetings prior to Washington State's 2-1 win last season in Tempe. In last year's game the Sun Devils outshot WSU 24-6, including 15-1 advantage during a scoreless first half. The Cougars scored both of their goals in the first eight minutes of the second half. Current Sun Devil Larisa Staub got ASU on the board in the 66th minute, but the Sun Devils were unable to find the equalizer over the last 24-plus minutes of the game. Neither team has scored more than two goals against the other since 2005, which is also the last time one team beat the other by more than one goal (ASU won 4-2 in Pullman).
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 seven goals in 2016 (11 games). Mader, who was held out of ASU's game at Washington (Oct. 6) as a precautionary measure, enters Sunday's game tied for third in the Pac-12 in goals (7) and tied for ninth in points (14). 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 51 (50 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 49 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.
Senior midfielder Lucy Lara is ASU's most experienced player in the midfield – 64 career games/43 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).
ASU's most experienced defender (57 starts in 68 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 (7), also finding the back of the next 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).
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 has started each of ASU's last 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).
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 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 12 contests at center back. 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 has started each of ASU's last 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 12 contests at outside back and has recorded six starts thus far.
ADDITIONAL NOTES
• Four Sun Devils have started every game this season: Fr. D Devyn Kelsey, RS Sr. M Lucy Lara, 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 (11/11) and Mader (11/11) have both started every game they have played in. Other Sun Devils with at least five starts this season include Jr. D Madison Stark (12 games/11 starts), Jr. F Aly Moon (9/10), Jr. F Jessica Raybe (9/12), Fr. D Hailey Zerbel (6/12) and junior defender Taylor Coon (6/12).
• The Sun Devils have outshot the opposition in nine of 12 games this season and have recorded more shots on goal in seven of those games. In addition, they have accumulated nearly double the amount of corner kicks as the opposition (71-38).
• Both of Jr. M Madison Kemetko'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 four losses this 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 48 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) and a 2-1 loss (2 OTs) vs. San Francisco (Sept. 9, 2016).
• 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.