BERKELEY, Calif. – The Arizona State lacrosse team (6-6, 1-4 Pac-12) defeated the California Golden Bears (4-7, 0-5) in thrilling fashion, 12-11, in their first overtime battle in program history Sunday afternoon at California Memorial Stadium.
"I'm tremendously proud of our girls' effort on the field today," said head coach Courtney Martinez Connor. "They showed a lot of heart throughout the game. We had players step up at multiple positions when the time was needed which is what you like to see when a spark is needed."
The Sun Devils got the scoring started early, taking a 2-0 lead in the first half with a goal less than two minutes in by junior co-captain Kerri Clayton, and another about four minutes later by freshman midfielder Maddy Hunter assisted by fellow freshman Graci Fulkerson.The Golden Bears would score the next four goals, giving them a 6-2 lead before a 3-0 run by the Sun Devils brought them back within one.
Cal took the final score of the half, leading the Sun Devils 7-5 at halftime.
A back-and-forth second half saw ASU tie up the game at nine with just over 10 minutes remaining, before Cal went on a 2-0 spurt to take the lead again. Clayton and Fulkerson scored less than two minutes apart to finish regulation at 11-11.
Freshman midfielder Emily Glagolev hit the back of the net via the assist by Clayton to seal the victory for the Sun Devils in sudden-death overtime, 12-11. It can be counted in the record books as the Sun Devils first Pac-12 victory in program history and the first overtime victory in program history.
In total, seven Sun Devils found the back of the net during the contest. Clayton finished with four goals, Glagolev and freshman midfielder Kylie Kroeger each notched two, and Fulkerson, Hunter, freshman attacker Kate Dougherty and sophomore attacker Carley Adams all collected one of their own.
"Offensively we were really gelling and working together and I think that showed especially in the overtime period. From the draw team winning control of the ball and getting it safely into our offensive end our attack was playing with such confidence that they were able to capitalize to finish the game for our first conference win. I couldn't be more proud of the entire team."
The Sun Devils added 5 assists (Clayton 3, Fulkerson 2) for a game-total 17 points.Defensively, freshman goalkeeper Sophia Thomas saved a career-high seven shots after taking over in the cage in the first half.
"When we needed stops at the end of the game our defense came out strong as a unit. Our goalkeeper Sophia Thomas did a good job stepping in for Berkeley Bonneau and played tough at such a crucial time in the game," Martinez Connor added.
Cal was led in scoring by freshman attacker Nikki Zaccaro with three goals.Up next the Sun Devils return to Tempe to host the Bay Area schools for the second match-up in just as many weeks. They host No. 19 Stanford on Friday, March 30 at 5 p.m. and Cal Sunday, April 1 at noon. Both games are free for fans to attend. Friday's contest will be broadcasted live via ASU's version of Pac-12+ while Sunday will be the Sun Devils' debut on the Pac-12 Network.