TEMPE, Ariz. – Nicole Douglas, Sun Devil Soccer's all-time leader in career goals, points and game-winning goals and its record holder for most goals and points in a single season, added two more school records to her remarkable resume as the senior forward set new single-game standards for most goals (four) and points (nine) in a single game in the Sun Devil soccer team's 5-1 win over Oregon on Thursday night.
"Tonight, I think that was one of our best performances of the season." ASU head coach Graham Winkworth said. "I'm really proud not just of our players, but of our assistant coaches that work so hard out here every single day. When their thoughts and efforts get rewarded there's no better feeling, so I'm really happy for them as well."
Eva van Deursen continued to add to her single-season career high in goals with her sixth of the season. Like Douglas, van Deursen also made history on Thursday night with her 25th career assist, tying Sun Devil Hall of Famer Stacey Tullock for most career assists.
In a series that neither team has dominated in recent years, ASU (8-4-3, 4-4-1) defeated the Ducks for the first time since 2018 and captured its first win over Oregon (4-7-6, 2-5-2) in Tempe since 2015. Thursday's win came in emphatic fashion as the Sun Devils posted their highest goal total vs. a Pac-12 opponent since 2012 when they defeated USC 5-4 in double overtime.
DOUGLAS DOES IT AGAIN
Douglas is in a league of her own and has already cemented herself as one of the program's all-time greatest players. She scored her first conference goal of the season 48 seconds into the game and had scored three goals for the Sun Devils by the 24th minute to tie the school record of three goals for the fifth time in her career.
In the 74th minute, Douglas, who also assisted on van Deursen's goal in the 54th minute, separated herself from several Sun Devil players who have tied the school record for most goals in a game over the years by finding the back of the net with her fourth goal to set the new school single-game record. Douglas simultaneously set two records with the goal as it also gave her nine points for the game, surpassing former Sun Devil Cali Farquharson's record of eight points set in the aforementioned contest vs USC in 2012. For Douglas, it was the 13th time in her career she has scored multiple goals in a single game.
"The biggest thing for me was I hadn't scored in Pac-12 play so far, and I needed to change that and prove who I really am as a player." Douglas said. "It's senior week and I couldn't think of a better week to start scoring goals in conference play."
QUICK START
For the seventh time this season, ASU scored in the first half as it possessed the ball for the majority of the first half limiting Oregon's chances to get into any rhythm.
BRICK WALL
The defense put on a show which proved to be a factor in the team's success in the first half. The effort at the back helped create opportunities for the offensive attack as ASU's defenders didn't allow a shot on goal for the entire first half. It's the fourth straight game the team has not allowed a first half goal.
Freshman goalkeeper Pauline Nelles got credit for the win as she grabbed her eighth of the season after facing only three shot attempts for the game.
"I thought the first half we defended really well, and not just the backline," Winkworth said. "I talked to them at halftime. I was proud of the efforts of the likes of Enasia [Colon] and Jazmine [Wilkinson] and Hannah [Leitner] and Gabi [Rennie] when they went in, just the amount they were prepared to run defensively, because forwards don't like to do that. But, they worked their socks off defensively and ran all the way through. I know the midfield's going to run when you have players like [Olivia Nguyen], and Alexia [Delgado] and Eva [van Deursen], they're going to run and work hard defensively.
"Our backline stood their ground. They didn't have too much to do in the first half. I thought we created our own problems in the second half. I was disappointed with the number of efforts on goal Oregon had through that little spell in the second half. That was disappointing. If we're going to have any progress in the postseason play, we're going to have to be better for 90 minutes. I think we had a 75-minute performance tonight."
EVA WITH THE ASSIST
Van Deursen has been closing in on the assists record all season long and she is one step closer after tying the program record on Thursday after assisting Douglas' goal in the 24th minute, which was Van Deursen's fifth assist of the season and the 25th of her career. She will look to break the program record with two games remaining on the schedule.
"Honestly, I knew at the beginning of the season that I needed, I believe five more to break the record, four more to tie it," van Deursen said. "It's been in the back of my head. Obviously, when you don't have any assists in a couple of games you start to think 'am I going to get it, tie it, or break it?' It's definitely a goal of mine.
"The record is in the back of my head, but I'm not thinking about it every game. I don't think, 'hey, you need to break this record.' It's not the most important thing to me. The priority for me is getting a whole team performance, and us getting into the tournament."
MORE SCHOOL RECORDS COMING?
At this time last season, van Deursen was in pursuit of the school's single-season record for assists which she set with 10. In Thursday's win, Lucy Johnson, who earlier this season tied the single-game school record with three assists in ASU's win over UAB, picked up her eighth assist of the season and is now two away from tying van Deursen's single-season mark.
SENIOR DAY ON SUNDAY
Following the Sunday's game vs. Oregon State, the program will celebrate the careers of this year's senior class, one of the best in the history of the program: Fifth-year seniors Alexia Delgado, Nicole Douglas, Olivia Nguyen and Eva van Deursen and Giulia Cascapera, Callie Darst and Tahlia Herman-Watt.
"It means everything. For me personally, this year has just been a bonus as the COVID redshirt year, so this year has just been extra and I think that's the same mentality for the three other fifth years," Nguyen said. "A lot of their families have come to town for this game, so it's been a really cool atmosphere. It feels like we're playing for more than ourselves and our teammates, with our families included. We're reflecting on the past four seasons."
UP NEXT
The Sun Devils will be back at home on Sunday (1 p.m. MST) when they host the Oregon State Beavers. Coverage will be on ASU Live Stream. Click here to buy tickets to any of the remaining Sun Devil Soccer games.
Fans can keep up with all the action from the Sun Devil Soccer season at @SunDevilSoccer on Twitter, Facebook and on Instagram.
"Tonight, I think that was one of our best performances of the season." ASU head coach Graham Winkworth said. "I'm really proud not just of our players, but of our assistant coaches that work so hard out here every single day. When their thoughts and efforts get rewarded there's no better feeling, so I'm really happy for them as well."
Eva van Deursen continued to add to her single-season career high in goals with her sixth of the season. Like Douglas, van Deursen also made history on Thursday night with her 25th career assist, tying Sun Devil Hall of Famer Stacey Tullock for most career assists.
In a series that neither team has dominated in recent years, ASU (8-4-3, 4-4-1) defeated the Ducks for the first time since 2018 and captured its first win over Oregon (4-7-6, 2-5-2) in Tempe since 2015. Thursday's win came in emphatic fashion as the Sun Devils posted their highest goal total vs. a Pac-12 opponent since 2012 when they defeated USC 5-4 in double overtime.
DOUGLAS DOES IT AGAIN
Douglas is in a league of her own and has already cemented herself as one of the program's all-time greatest players. She scored her first conference goal of the season 48 seconds into the game and had scored three goals for the Sun Devils by the 24th minute to tie the school record of three goals for the fifth time in her career.
In the 74th minute, Douglas, who also assisted on van Deursen's goal in the 54th minute, separated herself from several Sun Devil players who have tied the school record for most goals in a game over the years by finding the back of the net with her fourth goal to set the new school single-game record. Douglas simultaneously set two records with the goal as it also gave her nine points for the game, surpassing former Sun Devil Cali Farquharson's record of eight points set in the aforementioned contest vs USC in 2012. For Douglas, it was the 13th time in her career she has scored multiple goals in a single game.
"The biggest thing for me was I hadn't scored in Pac-12 play so far, and I needed to change that and prove who I really am as a player." Douglas said. "It's senior week and I couldn't think of a better week to start scoring goals in conference play."
QUICK START
For the seventh time this season, ASU scored in the first half as it possessed the ball for the majority of the first half limiting Oregon's chances to get into any rhythm.
BRICK WALL
The defense put on a show which proved to be a factor in the team's success in the first half. The effort at the back helped create opportunities for the offensive attack as ASU's defenders didn't allow a shot on goal for the entire first half. It's the fourth straight game the team has not allowed a first half goal.
Freshman goalkeeper Pauline Nelles got credit for the win as she grabbed her eighth of the season after facing only three shot attempts for the game.
"I thought the first half we defended really well, and not just the backline," Winkworth said. "I talked to them at halftime. I was proud of the efforts of the likes of Enasia [Colon] and Jazmine [Wilkinson] and Hannah [Leitner] and Gabi [Rennie] when they went in, just the amount they were prepared to run defensively, because forwards don't like to do that. But, they worked their socks off defensively and ran all the way through. I know the midfield's going to run when you have players like [Olivia Nguyen], and Alexia [Delgado] and Eva [van Deursen], they're going to run and work hard defensively.
"Our backline stood their ground. They didn't have too much to do in the first half. I thought we created our own problems in the second half. I was disappointed with the number of efforts on goal Oregon had through that little spell in the second half. That was disappointing. If we're going to have any progress in the postseason play, we're going to have to be better for 90 minutes. I think we had a 75-minute performance tonight."
EVA WITH THE ASSIST
Van Deursen has been closing in on the assists record all season long and she is one step closer after tying the program record on Thursday after assisting Douglas' goal in the 24th minute, which was Van Deursen's fifth assist of the season and the 25th of her career. She will look to break the program record with two games remaining on the schedule.
"Honestly, I knew at the beginning of the season that I needed, I believe five more to break the record, four more to tie it," van Deursen said. "It's been in the back of my head. Obviously, when you don't have any assists in a couple of games you start to think 'am I going to get it, tie it, or break it?' It's definitely a goal of mine.
"The record is in the back of my head, but I'm not thinking about it every game. I don't think, 'hey, you need to break this record.' It's not the most important thing to me. The priority for me is getting a whole team performance, and us getting into the tournament."
MORE SCHOOL RECORDS COMING?
At this time last season, van Deursen was in pursuit of the school's single-season record for assists which she set with 10. In Thursday's win, Lucy Johnson, who earlier this season tied the single-game school record with three assists in ASU's win over UAB, picked up her eighth assist of the season and is now two away from tying van Deursen's single-season mark.
SENIOR DAY ON SUNDAY
Following the Sunday's game vs. Oregon State, the program will celebrate the careers of this year's senior class, one of the best in the history of the program: Fifth-year seniors Alexia Delgado, Nicole Douglas, Olivia Nguyen and Eva van Deursen and Giulia Cascapera, Callie Darst and Tahlia Herman-Watt.
"It means everything. For me personally, this year has just been a bonus as the COVID redshirt year, so this year has just been extra and I think that's the same mentality for the three other fifth years," Nguyen said. "A lot of their families have come to town for this game, so it's been a really cool atmosphere. It feels like we're playing for more than ourselves and our teammates, with our families included. We're reflecting on the past four seasons."
UP NEXT
The Sun Devils will be back at home on Sunday (1 p.m. MST) when they host the Oregon State Beavers. Coverage will be on ASU Live Stream. Click here to buy tickets to any of the remaining Sun Devil Soccer games.
Fans can keep up with all the action from the Sun Devil Soccer season at @SunDevilSoccer on Twitter, Facebook and on Instagram.