Sunday's match will serve as The Sun Devils' annual Pink Game, in an effort to continue to raise awareness for breast cancer. The Sun Devils will don their pink jerseys for the match, and invite all fans in attendance to wear pink as well.
The Sun Devils will take the field with a fresh squad after having last weekend's match against top-ranked Stanford rained out. Things will not be easy for the Sun Devils, who will take the field against a top-20 team for the third straight outing in Thursday's meeting against No. 19 WSU.
"I think anytime you get a bit of an extra break its an advantage," head coach Graham Winkworth said of his team's unexpected weekend off. "I think going into this game is a definite advantage for us, and playing at home where don't have to travel, we're used to the sunshine and stuff so definitely we got home field advantage this weekend but we have to make good use to it."
The Cougars (10-3-0, 3-3-0) have been a force all season, starting the year with a 10-game win streak that featured five shutout victories. The Cougars will arrive in Tempe looking to get back on track after dropping their last three games (at No. 20 Colorado, at Utah and vs. No. 2 USC). On the season, WSU has outscored their opponents 26-12, an advantage powered by their 102-50 shots on goal differential. In goal, Rachel Thompson has anchored the Cougars to a 5-3-0 record in her over 610 minutes in net. Offensively, Morgan Weaver have powered the high-power WSU offense, accounting for seven goals and two assists this season.
Aiding in the Sun Devils being successful in playing their style of soccer is the return of leading goal-scorer, Nicole Douglas. Douglas missed the last three outings for the Sun Devils as she was picked to compete with the English U19 team in Croatia. With her return to the squad late last week, the Sun Devils will enter Thursdays' game with the team's first full week of training as a complete roster this season.
The full week of training with a complete team couldn't come at a better time for the Sun Devils, as the team is trying to mesh as a group, who combined to represent seven different countries.
"It's great," Winkworth said of his team's international makeup. "I watch them warm up, and I am seeing players from all over the world like sisters out on the soccer pitch. We all speak the same language in soccer. It's so much fun when I see a young lady from the Netherlands and a young lady from Mexico that are joined at the hip with one another. And then there is an American young lady joined at the hip with them as well. It's just so nice that they can be so close and I'm overwhelmed by how quickly that happened. It's great. It's nice to see international parents coming over to cheer them on. We have a couple in the stands for practice this week and we will have a few more in the stands on Thursday from various countries."
Following Thursday's contest, the Sun Devils will turn their attention to Washington. The Huskies will arrive in Tempe following their Thursday night matchup against Arizona. Entering the week, UW has fought their way to a 7-6-1 record, that includes a 2-4 mark in Pac-12 play. In their last outing, Washington was shutout by No. 10 UCLA. Statistically, the Huskies have been led by sophomore Olivia Van der Jagt, who has amassed a team-leading five goals already this season. In goal, Siena Ruelas has anchored the Huskies defense in allowing just 16 goals on the season. The junior has saved 50 of her 144 shots she has faced during the year.
Following this weekend's home stand, the Sun Devils will hit the road to take on Oregon and Oregon State in the Pacific Northwest on Oct. 25 and 28th. Following the road trip, ASU will return home to host Arizona on Friday, Nov. 2, before making up their match against top-ranked Stanford on Sunday, Nov. 4.
"We put the season into two segments," Winkworth said of his remaining fixtures. "We have got a five game season and a one game season remaining. We have got to try get as many points in the next five match as possible. Two home games against two very good opponents. We have got to try and take some points in our own stadium before we head up to Oregon and play two more tough games on the road, before we play the Territorial Cup against Arizona. We've made a mini season of those five games and then we get a one-game season against Stanford at the end of the year. We're going to evaluate where we are once we've played in the Territorial Cup. Hopefully by then the Stanford game doesn't mean too much in regard of our national rankings. But, if it does, then we have a second opportunity."
Fans can follow all of the action from the 2018 Sun Devil Soccer season by following @SunDevilSoccer on Twitter and Instagram.