"Baylor is a very very talented and well coached team," Graham Winkworth said of his Friday night opponent. "They are a very aggressive and physical team. They are pretty direct in the way that they play. There are balls in the air sometimes so our defenders will need to be ready to head the ball. We are expecting a very quality opponent who is well coached with athletic players. We have just got to make sure we do a good job at playing our game and focus on what we do well. We are young, but we are talented and hopefully we can give them a good game on Friday afternoon."
Arizona State enters the weekend in seventh place in the conference standings after finishing 1-1 in last weekend's Sun Devil Desert Classic. Despite controlling possession and nearly every statistical category in Friday's match, ASU dropped their first game of the season to New Hampshire 2-1. The Sun Devils bounced back in a big way on Sunday, getting past Southeast Missouri State, 4-0, in their Sunday match.
"We made a decision against New Hampshire to go with a back-three," head coach Graham Winkworth said of his team's adjustments through last weekend's matches. "We didn't think it was right for our game on Sunday, but it certainly made a huge impact for us in the second half against New Hampshire. We scored a cracking goal from Alexia Delgado and then completely dominated the game. This is certainly something we are looking at going forward and something we could utilize this weekend, going with a back-three. Having watched our opponents play, it is something we may want to implement moving forward."
When Winkworth arrived on campus, he set to work on instilling a new brand of Sun Devil soccer, a style that would be built with a focus on possessing the ball and making smart clean passes. So far this season, the Devils have excelled at this, completing nearly 80 percent of their total passes this year. Defensively, the Sun Devils have limited teams' ability to attack, holding opposing teams to under an under 75 percent pass completion rate.
While the Sun Devils have continued maintaining possession, the team has also showed an aptitude for scoring goals. Through just three games this season, ASU has outscored their opposition 8-3, pulling the team's goals per game mark to right at 2.67 goals per game. That mark ranks fifth in the Pac-12 and 27th- nationally entering the weekend.
Leading the way in goals scored this season is freshman attacker Nicole Douglas who has made the most of her limited time as a Sun Devil. The talented striker enters the weekend tilt with three goals already this season, despite missing a game for international duty. The first-year player has played 114 minutes so far this season, meaning she is scoring a goal once every 38 minutes she is on the pitch. In the Pac-12, Douglas' three goals ranks fifth among all players, and is the most goals scored by a freshman so far this season.
Although the 2018 season is well underway, a full strength ASU team has yet to hit the field. Last weekend, both Douglass and senior captain Jemma Purfield were unavailable for Friday's contest against New Hampshire. On Sunday's match against SEMO, Douglas was back, but Purfield remained inactive while competing in Norway. This all came a week removed from the Sun Devils welcoming both Alexia Delgado and Eva Van Deursen to campus after the two talented freshman completed their stints at the U20 World Cup. While Winkworth hopes to have a full-strength team available this weekend, it looks unlikely with Jemma Purfield expected to rejoin the team following her international play late this week.
"Losing two players last weekend was tough," Winkworth said. "When we recruit this level of player we respect that they are national-team players as well, and as part of our process we honor our word and support them when they go back and play for their country. It is good exposure for our university, but also a great opportunity for them as well. We missed them on Friday, but I felt like we did enough to win that game, it just didn't happen. On Sunday we got Dougie (Nicole Douglas) back, and she got herself a goal. Jemma is gone for a bit longer playing in a tournament in Norway. She is unlikely to be back for this first game on Friday, so we have to figure out how we are going to cope with that and hopefully we will have a full squad next week at sometime."
Aiding ASU through this early part of the season with so many players away, is the balanced attack from the Sun Devils in both the starting 11 and reserve players. In Sunday's 4-0 shutout victory 19 players recorded minutes, with just two players playing a full 90. This depth even extends into the keeper position which has seen both Nikki Panas and Sydney Day pick up wins, and play crucial minutes for the Sun Devils.
"The depth we have at the goalkeeper position is huge," Winkworth said. "All three goalkeepers on this roster are exceptional. I am excited for Amanda Green, who is certainly one for the future who is pushing the current two. We have got three really good goalkeepers. Most importantly, and they would tell you this too, the team got a clean sheet on Sunday. The keepers have been a part of that, but our defending comes from every player on the pitch."
This weekend brings yet another challenge for the Sun Devils, starting with a match against NCAA Elite Eight competitor Baylor on Friday evening. The Bears, 4-2, enter Friday's contest off a dominant 6-0 win over Nebraska on Sunday. BU has been led this season by junior Camryn Wendlandt who has scored three goals and carded one assist in her 330 minutes played.
Monday's match against the Jackrabbits will stand as the first true road contest for the Sun Devils as they face South Dakota State. Boasting a 3-3 record, the Jackrabbits have proven themselves as a tough team to score on, ranking near the top-50 with a .500 shutout percentage on the year. Last weekend, SDSU shutout Greenbay, 2-0, before falling to Creighton, 3-0 Sunday afternoon.
Following this weekend's road slate, the Sun Devils will look to close out the 2018 nonconference schedule at Northern Arizona next Friday, before hosting Weber State on Sunday Sept. 16. Fans can follow all of the action from the 2018 season by following @SunDevilSoccer on Twitter.