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Sun Devil Lacrosse Defeats Cal to Open Pac-12 Play

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Sun Devil Lacrosse Defeats Cal to Open Pac-12 PlaySun Devil Lacrosse Defeats Cal to Open Pac-12 Play
TEMPE, Ariz. – The Sun Devil Lacrosse team opened Pac-12 Conference Play on a high note, defeating California 17-15 on Friday afternoon at Sun Devil Soccer/Lacrosse Stadium.

Arizona State (5-2, 1-0) took the fight to the Golden Bears, immediately jumping out to a 3-0 right out of the gates. They would not look back after the fast start, leading wire-to-wire in a victory over Pac-12 rival California. Coach McCormack's team moved to 3-0 at home this season behind the strength of another potent offensive attack along with clutch defense and goaltending.

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TFW you open up Pac-12 Play with a win for first time in program history! #ForksUp pic.twitter.com/sJRbUxxx4c

— Sun Devil Lacrosse (@SunDevilWLax) March 7, 2020
"It was a great win," Coach McCormack remarked. "We put all that work in so when it comes together and you are the tougher group for 60 minutes, it is always nice."

Opposing defenses have yet to figure out a way to stop Kerri Clayton, as she played the game at her pace this afternoon. She finished with five goals for the third time in the last four games, riding a scoring tear that is putting her near the top of the national statistical ranks. Carley Adams (3 goals & 1 assist) and Emily Glagolev (2 goals & 2 assists) provided plenty of offensive support, each finishing with four points today. Olivia Hood (2 goals) enjoyed her first-career multi-goal performance, showing off the improvement in her all-around game. Five different Sun Devils had at least three points, including the midfielder duo of Tess Keiser (1 goal & 2 assists) and Kaylon Buckner (2 goals & 1 assist).

"The name of the game for us has been high-tempo and fast-paced, trying to get up chances as early and often as we can," Coach McCormack said. "It is awesome when everyone can do that beyond just the initial guys. We have full trust in everyone's ability that when they are out there, they are going to do their job and do it well."

Berkeley Bonneau turned in yet another double-digit save performance, the 25th of her career. The Sun Devils needed every one of her 14 saves, as she reached a special milestone in the first half of the victory. Bonneau eclipsed the 400-save mark this afternoon, fittingly on a free-position shot. She made a total of four stops on free-position shots, including two timely ones in the second half to secure the win.

4?0?0?-career Saves for Berkeley Bonneau ??

The standout Sun Devil goalkeeper put together her 2?5?th career double-digit save performance to reach the milestone ?? pic.twitter.com/QMUBYe0EeC

— Sun Devil Lacrosse (@SunDevilWLax) March 7, 2020
"Berkeley made a couple big-time saves at the end that were huge for us," Coach McCormack recalled.

HOW IT HAPPENED
  • In what has become a theme in their victories, the Sun Devils jumped out to an early lead.
    • Arizona State had Cal on their heels early, putting together a quick 3-0 run five and a half minutes into the game.
      • Carley Adams scored the first of those goals, putting her team on the board less than a minute in.
      • Kerri Clayton quickly followed Adams lead with a goal of her own two minutes later.
      • Tess Keiser added a goal, her third of the season to put the Sun Devils up 3-0 before Cal could settle in.
  • Arizona State had another 3-0 run in them to put them up 6-2 with 12:34 remaining in the first half, responding in a big way to two consecutive Cal goals.
    • Kerri Clayton and Carley Adams each recorded their second goal of the game, with the third goal coming from Olivia Hood off a feed from Tess Keiser.
  • Emily Glagolev had an answer for two Golden Bears' goals that cut into the lead, first assisting Kaylon Buckner on a goal before scoring one on her own.
  • Earning her first career start, Katie Brodsky made sure her team went into half with the momentum. She scored a goal with time ticking down at the end of the half, giving ASU a 10-7 lead.
  • Excellent passing by Kylie Kroeger led to the first goal of the second half, as she found a cutting Olivia Hood in a tight space who second her goal of the day.
  • Three unanswered Cal goals trimmed the Sun Devil lead to 11-10, with Coach McCormack's team in need of a response.
"They have been in that situation, but on the other side of it," Coach McCormack mentioned in regards to his team's ability to respond to a Golden Bear run. "They remembered that and didn't want it to happen again. They buckled down and the defense did an awesome job making a couple of great stops. It was all about their focus and their effort at the end."
  • Paige McGlothlin came through, scoring off a feed from Katie Brodsky to help ASU regain the momentum.
  • The second goal of the day from Emily Glagolev kickstarted a 3-0 run that helped the Sun Devils create separation midway through the second half.
    • Kerri Clayton decided to take over, scoring two consecutive goals to put her team up 15-11.
  • Carley Adams registered a hat trick, finishing off a feed from Emily Glagolev to make it 16-12 Sun Devils.
  • Kerri Clayton provided the final insurance goal Arizona State needed, her fifth of the day to seal the 17-15 win in the Pac-12 opener.
GAME FACTS
  • Coach McCormack and his coaching staff have changed the complexion of the offense, as the 2020 team has scored 16 or more goals in six of seven games. Over the previous two seasons (36 games), ASU accomplished the feat just four times total.
  • Kerri Clayton has taken her game to another level offensively in her senior campaign.
    • Over her last four games, Clayton has 19 goals and nine assists, proving why she is considered one of the most dangerous offensive threats in the country.
    • Clayton now has five or more goals in three of her last four games, reaching the mark seven times in her career.
  • Berkeley Bonneau reached the 400-career save mark on a night in which she made 14 saves, her 25th double-digit save performance of her career.
  • Coming into the game as the nation's leader in assists, Emily Glagolev did not disappoint yet again.
    • Glagolev has been putting up eye-popping stats over her last 16 games dating back to last season, compiling 68 points during that span. She now has 21 career multi-assist performances and 18 career multi-goal outings.
  • Carley Adams' is making the most of her senior campaign, putting up outstanding numbers in her final season in Tempe.
    • After finishing with three or more goals for the third consecutive game, Adams now has 13 goals and 16 points over her last four games. 

Carley Adams has been more like ??-ley Adams over her past 4? games ??

The Sun Devil attacker already has a career-high 1?8? goals this season ?? pic.twitter.com/x0md7fwcc3

— Sun Devil Lacrosse (@SunDevilWLax) March 7, 2020
  • Olivia Hood scored a pair of goals, notching her first career multi-goal performance.
  • Katie Brodsky earned had a productive first-career start, scoring a goal and dishing out an assist for the fourth consecutive game.
  • Arizona State picks up a win in the Pac-12 opener and moves to 3-0 at home to start the season for the first time in program history.
  • The Sun Devils earn their second win as a program over Cal, previously picking up their first Pac-12 win in program history over Cal back in the 2018 inaugural season.
UP NEXT
The second game of the weekend features 2019 NCAA Tournament Participant Stanford. The Sun Devils will take on the Cardinal on March 8 at 1 pm. So far in 2020, Stanford is 2-4, with all four losses coming to teams ranked in the Top-10. They most recently dropped a back-and-forth contest on the road at No. 8 USC.

"We have to come out tomorrow with great energy and focus to get ourselves ready to prepare as best we can to be successful against them," Coach McCormack stated in regards to the Sunday's meeting with Stanford.

Sunday's matchup with the No. 25 Cardinal will pit a pair of high-scoring teams against each other, as Stanford is averaging 14.5 goals/game, second to only the Sun Devils in the Pac-12. Midfielder Mikaela Watson (22 points) and Attacker Ali Baiocco (76 points) pace the Cardinal offense. Trudie Grattan has seen a majority of the playing time in net for Stanford, playing 346 of a possible 360 minutes. Stanford is the top draw control team in the conference in both percentage and average per game.

"Sunday is going to be awesome," attacker Kerri Clayton remarked earlier in the week. "Stanford is always a hard, athletic team and will come out firing but any chance we get to go out and show what we've been working on all fall and spring is a great opportunity for us."

Danielle Spencer takes over as Head Coach on "The Farm" after making the move from Dartmouth. Coach Spencer and Sun Devil Lacrosse Head Coach are very familiar with each other, having spent three seasons as part of the Northwestern coaching staff under Kelly Amonte Hiller. During their time together in Evanston, they helped the Wildcats make the NCAA Tournament each season, including a run to the 2014 Final Four.

HOW TO FOLLOW
Sun Devil fans, don't miss out on another opportunity to see the high-scoring 2020 lacrosse team in action. If you can't make it out to Sunday's game, track the game via live stats, which will be provided here. As always, in-game updates can be found by following the Sun Devil Lacrosse twitter account (@SunDevilWLax). Visit our Instagram and Facebook accounts for pre-game and post-game coverage of the game.
 
For the latest information throughout the season, follow our Twitter and Instagram accounts (@SunDevilWLax) and like our Facebook page (www.facebook.com/sundevilwlax/).