The 2018 home opener comes as a bit of a change for the Sun Devils, who were scheduled to be in Hawaii this weekend competing at the Rainbow Wahine Soccer Invitational at Waipi'o Peninsula Soccer Stadium. Unfortunately, due to the forecast of Hurricane Lane, the Sun Devils were forced to cancel their trip and instead host the Grizzlies in a Thursday night tilt.
"We had to think of the safety of our young ladies," Winkworth said of the decision to reschedule the games in Hawaii. "We really want to send our best wishes and prayers to the players and staff at Hawaii and all of the people living there. This storm looks like it may really hit the islands. Our thoughts and prayers are with them right now."
"Our administration has been fantastic in getting Thursday's game together," Winkworth added. "We were on the phone early yesterday morning. All of our support staff, there are a lot of people working behind the scenes to make the game tomorrow night to happen, so we really want to say thank you to all of them for their work in making this happen. We also want to thank Montana. I spoke to their coach yesterday while they were at the airport trying to decide if they should fly to Hawaii. Everyone wants to play, and for them to make a detour and join us here in Tempe, we can't thank them enough and we are looking forward to a fun game."
The Sun Devils enter Thursday's game following an impressive showing in their three exhibition matches over the last two weekends. Despite taking the field for the first time with just four training sessions under their belt, the Sun Devils rolled to a 1-0-1 record in their first weekend of preseason play. ASU started the year with a 3-1 win over NM State, before settling for a 1-1 draw with Colorado College. ASU followed that performance with a 10-0 rout of visiting FUSC last weekend.
Through the first two preseason weeks, the Sun Devils have seen 13 different players score a goal, including 10 goal scorers who are new to the roster in 2018. On the defensive end of the pitch, the Sun Devils have allowed just one goal through their three preseason games, leading to an impressive 0.67 goals against average.
This week also marks an important one for the Sun Devils in terms of personnel, as ASU welcomed their final two members of the 2018 signings class to campus. Both Alexia Delgado and Eva Van Deursen both arrived on campus and are expected to make their first appearance in the Maroon and Gold in Thursday's contest.
"It has been great having the full team here," Winkworth said of his full strength roster heading into Thursday's game. "Alexia has only been in a few training sessions and Eva just arrived in training yesterday. We are delighted that they have had the opportunity to represent their countries in the World Cup, and selfishly we are happy that they are here, but obviously also disappointed that they didn't get the opportunity to win the world cup. It is great to have everyone here on and off the field. I think everyone is starting to feel more relaxed now being in their classes and starting to do what regular season do. We are excited to have everyone here for sure."
The Grizzlies enter the Thursday match with an 0-2-0 record on the young season. The visitors started their 2018 season last weekend, falling to Fresno State (1-0) and San Francisco (1-0). Montana welcomed eight starters back from a 2017 team that posted a 10-7-3 record and finished second in the Big Sky Conference regular season standings.
"Montana is a big, strong and athletic team," Winkworth said about the visiting Grizzlies. "At this stage of the season there isn't that much film on other teams so we really have to be more focused on ourselves. We are really looking the opportunity to get out and run. We want players who want to run. It is hard work defending, but we are looking for complete buy in from every player in every game and every session. We are looking for the players who stand out in that sense and players who show us flashes of brilliance when we have the ball. Having such a big squad, I am sure we will be able to put together a team that will be capable of doing both of those things."
Following Thursday's game, the Sun Devils will be back in action the weekend of August 31, hosting the Sun Devil Desert Classic featuring the Arizona Wildcats, New Hampshire Wildcats and South Eastern Missouri State Redhawks. Arizona State will begin play against New Hampshire, Friday at 7 p.m. PT, followed by a Sunday match against the Redhawks Sunday Sept. 2 at 1:30 p.m. PT. Fans can follow all of the action from the 2018 season by following @SunDevilSoccer on Twitter.
Sun Devils to Open 2018 Season Against Montana
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