Sun Devil Soccer Embodiment of International Student-Athlete Impact at ASU

Tempe, Ariz. - Arizona State's diverse roster is represented at Sun Devil Soccer Stadium by eight flags flying behind the north goal. The flags represent players from countries across the globe, making up one of the most diverse rosters among all of Sun Devil Athletics.
 

There are over 20,000 international student-athletes in NCAA schools across the country, but transitioning to the US comes with challenges. Our @eliavgabay caught up with a few @TheSunDevils student-athletes about their experiences.
Full Story: https://t.co/9w0lRVGx2I pic.twitter.com/C9nfKy58B3

— Cronkite News: Phoenix Sports (@sportscronkite) April 25, 2019

The blend of international players on the roster provided the Sun Devils some unique challenges this season, including having to take the pitch without a complete roster six different times this season. Most recently, Arizona State's leading goal-scorer Nicole Douglas spent time with the English U19 team in Croatia, causing her to miss matches against Utah, UCLA and USC.
 
"I think the national team helped me grown as a player," said Douglas. "It's very competitive and in my opinion I think that's what helps me grow as a player. If you don't play against the best players, you won't develop. I'm just thankful for the opportunity."
 

Proud to share that @ASU is the top choice public university for international students for the 4th straight year per @IIEglobal. Nearly 13,500 international students are pursuing their dreams as #SunDevils. https://t.co/MHzMUuA3KT

— Michael Crow (@michaelcrow) November 13, 2018

The international makeup of the team is something that head coach Graham Winkworth has welcomed, and even benefited from.
 
"It's great, the more ideas you have the more likely you are to find the solution," Winkworth said of the wealth of talent and experience on the roster. "Sometimes ideas come from the players because they are very experienced. They might be young, but they are very experienced and have played for good clubs domestically here in America and overseas as well."
 
The international group - Netherland's Eva Van Deursen, England's Nicole Douglas and Jemma Purfield, Mexico's Alexia Delgado, Japan's Hikaru Minami Canada's Nikki Panas, Brazil's Lara Barbieri and Germany's Marleen Schimmer - all play different brands of soccer. The American style is known to be more physical while the European are known to be more technical.
 
"It's nice having those physical athletes on our team, but also the technical athletes," said goalkeeper Nikki Panas. "It just gives good depth to the team."
 
Panas is an international player from Canada who brings experience from the U15 and U17 Polish national teams. Each player brings a little part of themselves to the group, allowing the team to get better as a unit.
 
"I think it's massive because we bring cultures from all over," said English national and former Sun Devil captain Jemma Purfield. "I think it is exciting because we've got a team that likes to adapt and likes to learn from each other. We all kind of work off each other and learn each other's style of play."
 
The coaches are well equipped for the stylistic variety the team possess. The staff is comprised of two English coaches, a Japanese coach, and a Scottish goalkeeping coach that adds to the influx of ideas.
 
"I think the English side of it helps us play with composure, get the ball on the floor and try and play an English style of soccer," said Purfield. "I think it's exciting having those three and i'm excited what they'll do with the program in the next few years."
 
As a team, the Sun Devils doubled its win total from last season and captured three more conference victories. The success is credited to the team's strong relationships and veteran leadership.
 
"At least three minutes," said Winkworth when asked how long it took for the team to gel. "It's important that players show good skills with the ball, but it's even better that they show good character and our senior leadership shows great character."
 
The group has been close since the beginning, stemming from an open-minded approach that developed a healthy environment in the locker room. Many of the international players don't get to see their family very often, but their teammates from the United States have welcomed them into their homes with open arms.

Happy to have Canada ( @luguentz ), Finland ( @EliasValtonen ), Serbia ( @urosp34 ) and Ukraine ( @ShibelVi13 ) represented on our list of international student-athletes. https://t.co/3N7RTUTn3a

— Sun Devil MBB (@SunDevilHoops) December 5, 2018

"Sometimes when new players come to a program, particularly so many new players, they are not always welcome because older players feel like 'well she's coming in to take my place' so, they don't treat them very nicely," said Winkworth. "This program, whether someone is coming in to play above them or not, they have just been such good people."
 
Purfield mentioned she competed with many diverse groups, but this one is differs from the rest. To her, it contains the most diversity among the styles of soccer, but it's also the best group she's ever played with. "It works," said Purfield.
 
The young team made a large jump as a program, poised for an even more successful season next year behind All-Pac-12 Freshmen Nicole Douglas and Marleen Schimmer.
 

As we recruit all over the world, feels like a great time to remind the world of this... pic.twitter.com/sBjCe5kGTf

— Sun Devil Men's Golf (@sundevilmgolf) October 22, 2018

@THE SUN DEVILS INTERNATIONAL STUDENT-ATHLETES BY COUNTRY
AUSTRALIA
Michael Sleep-Dalton, Football
Cater Swift, Men's Swimming

BAHAMAS
Justin Roberts, Men's Tennis

BRAZIL
Lara Barbieri, Soccer

CANADA
Max Balinson, Hockey
Megan Beedie, Volleyball
Tyler Busch, Hockey
Rebecca Deacon, Women's Diving
Evan DeBrouwer, Hockey
Luguentz Dort, Men's Basketball
Jarrod Gourley, Hockey
Avery Hamill, Lacrosse
Taya Hanson, Women's Basketbal
Hannah Henry, Triathlon

Your back-to-back National Champion Hannah Henry!

Charlotte Ahrens takes #2 and Katie Gorczyca takes #3 for a Sun Devil podium sweep! ?????? pic.twitter.com/ifr2CY43U9

— Sun Devil Triathlon (@sundeviltri) November 4, 2018

Dylan Hollman, Hockey
Pietro (P.J.) Marrocco, Hockey
Ashley McCool, Women's Diving
Blaire McDowell, Water Polo
Nicole Panos, Soccer
Brinson Pasichnuk, Hockey
Steenn Pasichnuk, Hockey
Kyla Roy, Triathlon

First year as a Sun Devil ? thanks for the great year @CliffEnglish @erindensham @sundeviltri pic.twitter.com/zyfIxsDVPd

— Hannah Henry (@hannah_henry33) May 11, 2018

Glynis Sim, Women's Cross Country
Jordan Sandhu, Hockey

CHINA
Peter Zhong, Hockey

COSTA RICA
Paul Chaplet, Men's Golf

CZECH REPUBLIC
Dominik Kellovsky, Men's Tennis

DENMARK
Benjamin Hannestad, Men's Tennis

DOMINICAN REPUBLIC
Will Kirkman, Men's Tennis

EGYPT
Youssef Selim, Men's Diving

Another performance, another Pac-12 Diver of the Week ??

Congrats, @Youssefselim97! https://t.co/H16gR8jrwV

— Sun Devil Swim/Dive (@ASUSwimDive) February 13, 2019

FINLAND
Elias Valtonen, Men's Basketball
Fanny Teijonsalo, Women's Swimming

FRANCE
Sophia Elenga, Women's Basketball
Lejeune Cecile, Cross Country
Anne Kuhm, Gymnastics
Makey Rakotomalala, Men's Tennis

GERMANY
Tim Ruehl, Men's Tennis
Marleen Schimmer, Soccer
Charlotte Ahrens, Women's Track

GREAT BRITAIN
William Paulson, Men's Cross Country
Thomas Wright, Men's Tennis
Nicole Douglas, Soccer
Jemma Purfield, Soccer
Lauryn John-Baptiste, Women's Tennis

IRELAND
Fearghal Curtin, Men's Cross Country
Olivia Mehaffey, Women's Golf

.@OliviaMehaffey sets the pace on day 1 at the European Ladies' Team Championship with a seven-under-par 65 around GC Murhof ????! pic.twitter.com/oIyDn99gOn

— European Golf Association (@EGA_golf) July 10, 2018

ITALY
Andrea Bolla, Men's Tennis
Roberta Liti, Women's Golf
Nicole Fossa Huergo, Women's Tennis
 

Feature: Koichiro Ishika is Enjoying the Fruits of His Labor - https://t.co/gxLsZwliZj | Arizona State University Athletics https://t.co/gH4YqZgi9w

— Sun Devil Men's Golf (@sundevilmgolf) May 13, 2018

JAPAN
Koichiro Ishika, Men's Golf
Hikaru Minami, Soccer

KENYA
Ian Kebenei, Men's Cross Country

KOREA
Won Jun Lee, Men's Golf

LATVIA
Filips Buncis, Hockey
Gvido Jansons, Hockey
 
MEXICO
Alexia Delgado, Soccer

NETHERLANDS
Bente Rogge, Water Polo

Congrats to Sun Devil Bente Rogge and @waterpolodames on winning the European Championship! @wp2018bcn #SunDevilUnity https://t.co/rMJXM4Dkf4

— Sun Devil Water Polo (@SunDevilWP) July 27, 2018

Maud Koopman, Water Polo
Eva Van Deursen, Soccer

NORWAY
Beatrice Llano, Women's Track

PORTUGAL
Jessica Barreira, Women's Track

RUSSIA
Sofia Anokhina, Women's Golf

SERBIA
Ivana Jeremic, Volleyball
Danica Krstonosic, Volleyball
Uros Plavsic, Men's Basketball

SINGAPORE
James Leow, Men's Golf

SLOVENIA
Sasa Klanecek, Women's Tennis

SOUTH AFRICA
Ilze Hattingh, Women's Tennis
Tereza Kolarova, Women's Tennis
Marlies Ross, Women's Swimming

SWEDEN
Jakob Stridsberg, Hockey
Anna Frida Kaellgren, Diving

SPAIN
Alex del Rey, Men's Golf
Raquel Olmos Ros, Women's Golf
Carmen Unzue, Volleyball

TAIWAN
Chun An Yu, Men's Golf
Lyle Linx, Baseball

What @kevingolfyu says when asked about his @ASU experience ... pic.twitter.com/6B3FCijbhV

— Sun Devil Men's Golf (@sundevilmgolf) October 22, 2018

TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO
Holland Cabara, Men's Track and Field

UKRAINE
Vitaliy Shibel, Men's Basketball