TEMPE, Ariz. – On the back of sophomore Nicole Douglas' first hat-trick, The Arizona State women's soccer team improved to 2-0 on the young season with a 7-1 victory over the University of Central Arkansas Sunday night at Sun Devil Soccer Stadium.
The Bears got off to a hot start, finding the back of the net in the ninth minute of play, taking a lead over the Sun Devils in their home opener. It took Douglas just three minutes to score the equalizer in the 12th minute to tie things up at one.
In a scoring flurry, Douglas added her second goal of the evening, and freshman Nicole Soto added her first as a Sun Devil just a minute later to make it a, 3-1, lead as the game reached the 30-minute mark. ASU would tack on one more in the final minutes of the first half, when senior Adriana Orozco fired one into the back of the net with just 40 seconds left in on the clock, making it a 4-1 ASU lead at the half.
Kicking off the second half on a high note, Douglas completed her hat trick with her third goal of the match while Eva Van Deursen and Dai Williams each added goals pushing the Devils to a perfect 2-0 record on the weekend with a commanding, 7-1, victory over the Bears.
"We have improved our team so much from last year," Douglas said of the team's offensive explosion on the weekend. "As you can see, we have the ability to score goals. Three goals for me is the first hat-trick and it feels amazing, but if it wasn't for my teammates then it wouldn't have happened. Everyone has the ability to score goals. We can change the team and we can still score goals so that just shows the depth we have on our team."
Defensively, the Sun Devils were powered by another winning effort from freshman Giulia Cascapera who anchored a defensive effort that held the visiting Bears to three shots. After allowing a first half goal, Cascapera rebounded to shut out UCA in the final 81 minutes of the match.
The Sun Devils will be back in action next weekend when the team hosts Tennessee Tech and Weber State as part of the 2019 Sun Devil Classic. The Weekend slate will get underway for ASU on Friday with a 7:00 p.m. PT matchup against the Golden Eagles, before closing the three-game home stand with a Sunday tilt against the Wildcats. Fans can follow all of the action from the 2019 season by following @SunDevilSoccer on Twitter and Instagram.
A Word With Winkworth…
On tonight's atmosphere and performance:
"Firstly, I want to thank the fans because they were electric. They got the soccer chants going and they had me laughing toward the end with "If You're Happy and You Know It" and stuff like that. It was fun to play in front of them, and I know the players really do appreciate everyone who came out tonight. We're very happy to get our first home win as well."
On Nicole Douglas' hat trick:
"I told her she needed to put a couple away this weekend because she didn't get any Thursday night. It didn't take her too long, 11 minutes. I was proud for her. She tried making it difficult for that third one, but she ended up putting it away. Really pleased for her. Central Arkansas was the first place I got an opportunity to work for as a coach, and it's been nearly 20 years to where that program was then. Jeremy and their staff did a fantastic job developing that program and they should be really proud of where they've taken their program over the last few years."
On Eva Van Deursen performance tonight:
"Ava's been really consistent. She's working hard on improving her defensive side of the game, but in possession of the ball she switches the point very, very well. She's getting goals from midfield now which is something that didn't happen last season. It's something we wanted her to add to her game and her role has really enabled her to make those late runs into the box and it's giving her opportunities to score now. I'm really pleased for her."
On if there was any worry being down 1-0:
"Always. I know Central Arkansas and this is a big result tonight and the score line was big, but Central Arkansas are a good team and they'll win a lot of games this season. They won 16 matches last season. There's always a concern, but I was quite relaxed because it was early in the game and I never doubt the quality of the players I've got. I felt like we had plenty of time to create some chances and based upon how we've been finishing in practice and and Thursday night, I thought it would be very difficult for Central Arkansas to shut us out."
More from the Team...
MATCH NOTES
The Bears got off to a hot start, finding the back of the net in the ninth minute of play, taking a lead over the Sun Devils in their home opener. It took Douglas just three minutes to score the equalizer in the 12th minute to tie things up at one.
In a scoring flurry, Douglas added her second goal of the evening, and freshman Nicole Soto added her first as a Sun Devil just a minute later to make it a, 3-1, lead as the game reached the 30-minute mark. ASU would tack on one more in the final minutes of the first half, when senior Adriana Orozco fired one into the back of the net with just 40 seconds left in on the clock, making it a 4-1 ASU lead at the half.
Halftime in Tempe! Sun Devils answer with 4 straight goals. #TeamFirst
— Sun Devil Soccer (@SunDevilSoccer) August 26, 2019
?? 4
?? 1 pic.twitter.com/y4kFaH2Oj1
Kicking off the second half on a high note, Douglas completed her hat trick with her third goal of the match while Eva Van Deursen and Dai Williams each added goals pushing the Devils to a perfect 2-0 record on the weekend with a commanding, 7-1, victory over the Bears.
"We have improved our team so much from last year," Douglas said of the team's offensive explosion on the weekend. "As you can see, we have the ability to score goals. Three goals for me is the first hat-trick and it feels amazing, but if it wasn't for my teammates then it wouldn't have happened. Everyone has the ability to score goals. We can change the team and we can still score goals so that just shows the depth we have on our team."
Defensively, the Sun Devils were powered by another winning effort from freshman Giulia Cascapera who anchored a defensive effort that held the visiting Bears to three shots. After allowing a first half goal, Cascapera rebounded to shut out UCA in the final 81 minutes of the match.
The Sun Devils will be back in action next weekend when the team hosts Tennessee Tech and Weber State as part of the 2019 Sun Devil Classic. The Weekend slate will get underway for ASU on Friday with a 7:00 p.m. PT matchup against the Golden Eagles, before closing the three-game home stand with a Sunday tilt against the Wildcats. Fans can follow all of the action from the 2019 season by following @SunDevilSoccer on Twitter and Instagram.
A Word With Winkworth…
On tonight's atmosphere and performance:
"Firstly, I want to thank the fans because they were electric. They got the soccer chants going and they had me laughing toward the end with "If You're Happy and You Know It" and stuff like that. It was fun to play in front of them, and I know the players really do appreciate everyone who came out tonight. We're very happy to get our first home win as well."
On Nicole Douglas' hat trick:
"I told her she needed to put a couple away this weekend because she didn't get any Thursday night. It didn't take her too long, 11 minutes. I was proud for her. She tried making it difficult for that third one, but she ended up putting it away. Really pleased for her. Central Arkansas was the first place I got an opportunity to work for as a coach, and it's been nearly 20 years to where that program was then. Jeremy and their staff did a fantastic job developing that program and they should be really proud of where they've taken their program over the last few years."
On Eva Van Deursen performance tonight:
"Ava's been really consistent. She's working hard on improving her defensive side of the game, but in possession of the ball she switches the point very, very well. She's getting goals from midfield now which is something that didn't happen last season. It's something we wanted her to add to her game and her role has really enabled her to make those late runs into the box and it's giving her opportunities to score now. I'm really pleased for her."
On if there was any worry being down 1-0:
"Always. I know Central Arkansas and this is a big result tonight and the score line was big, but Central Arkansas are a good team and they'll win a lot of games this season. They won 16 matches last season. There's always a concern, but I was quite relaxed because it was early in the game and I never doubt the quality of the players I've got. I felt like we had plenty of time to create some chances and based upon how we've been finishing in practice and and Thursday night, I thought it would be very difficult for Central Arkansas to shut us out."
Postgame thoughts with Coach ?? pic.twitter.com/Iu0Pf9S3wX
— Sun Devil Soccer (@SunDevilSoccer) August 26, 2019
More from the Team...
"The energy was amazing and we could hear @942Crew cheering literally all game" -@kylieminie pic.twitter.com/0ebluCmeAm
— Sun Devil Soccer (@SunDevilSoccer) August 26, 2019
MATCH NOTES
- The Sun Devils (2-0) are off to their best start to the season since 2015 when they won their first four matches.
- Nicole Douglas' equalizer in the 11th minute represented her first goal of 2019 after scoring a team-leading nine last season. She put up two more to score multiple goals in back-to-back home openers dating back to 2018.
- Freshmen Nicole Soto and Dai Williams scored their first collegiate goals of their careers tonight.
- The seven goals for the Sun Devils tied a school record for goals scored in a single game. ASU has now scored seven goals in a game four times, the last (before today's game) against NAU in 2012.
- Adriana Orozco's 44th minute goal is the first for the redshirt senior since 2017, as she was sidelined in 2018 due to injury.