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Second-Half Spark Powers Lacrosse to Victory Over Cal

Second-Half Spark Powers Lacrosse to Victory Over CalSecond-Half Spark Powers Lacrosse to Victory Over Cal
TEMPE– After a back-and-forth first half, Arizona State lacrosse (7-6, 2-2) scored eight goals in the third quarter to pull away from the University of California (4-8, 1-3) en route to a 18-11 Sun Devils victory in Saturday's Pac-12 matchup. 

Head Coach Taryn VanThof praised her team's grit to start the third quarter, "I am really proud of how we turned around in that second half and the fight we had."

Defensively, Junior Goalkeeper Katie Vahle tallied 12 saves in the win and notched her fourth game with 10+ saves this season.

Meanwhile the duo of Sun Devil attackers, Mina Scott and Lydia Oldknow combined for nine of the 18 ASU goals and each tied career highs in goals scored. Scott accounted for five goals while Oldknow recorded her third game of a career-high four goals this season. Defender Gigi Gaspar also notched her first career goals in the win. 

Gigi Gaspar goes coast to coast for her first career goal ????
8-7 Sun Devils
Q3 | 12:10 pic.twitter.com/WOxsowPckb

— Sun Devil Lacrosse (@SunDevilWLax) April 6, 2024


How it Happened: 

Mina Scott put the Sun Devils ahead 1-0 just over two minutes into the game after charging the net and rifling a shot past the Cal goalkeeper. The Golden Bears responded with three consecutive goals, but ASU was not deterred. Scott scored her second goal of the game from a quick shot in front of the goal to cut Cal's lead to one with 1:20 remaining in the quarter. Less than a minute later, Anna Thornton tied the game 3-3 with 23 seconds to spare in the first.

ASU opened the second quarter the same way they finished the first. Bella Ingrao scored on a free shot after the opening minute to put the Sun Devils ahead 4-3. After the Golden Bears answered with back-to-back scores, ASU netted a pair of goals to regain the lead. Mina Scott's third score of the day completed her hat trick and tied the game with 7:04 remaining. 45 seconds later Claire Beucher found the back of the net for the first time this season to put the Sun Devils out front 6-5. Both teams traded goals, and Ingrao's second score of the day put ASU ahead 7-6 with 3:56 remaining in the second. 

Tied 7-7 at the half, Gigi Gaspar's first-career goal put the Sun Devils outfront three minutes into the third quarter. Gaspar received a pass from goalkeeper Katie Vahle, and she took it across the entirety of the field and scored. Lydia Oldknow scored two goals in less than a minute to give the Sun Devils a 10-8 advantage with 7:04 remaining. Thornton tallied her second score of the day and Oldknow completed her third quarter hat trick to put ASU ahead 12-0 at 3:43 of the third. Those were the first of five unanswered goals scored by the Sun Devils. Teagan Ng, Scott, and Gaspar found the back of the net to give ASU a 15-9 lead. Scott's goal was her fourth of the day and Gaspar's was her second of the game and career.

With a six-goal lead, Shannon Urey scored to push ASU's run of consecutive goals to six at 11:22 of the fourth quarter. The Sun Devils punctuated the day with two goals in the final minute to make it a 18-11 game. Lydia Odlnow scored her fourth goal of the game and half and Mina Scott tallied her team-high fifth goal

Sun Devil Notables:
  • Sophomore attacker Lydia Oldknow recorded seven points (4G-3A) against Cal and is the second Sun Devil this season with a seven-point game. Anna Thornton previously recorded seven points (3G-7A) against Pittsburgh on February 15. 
  • Claire Beucher scored her first goal of the season against Cal.
  • Zoe Mazur recorded 10 draw controls in the win, and tallied her sixth game this season with 10+ draw controls. 
  • Defender Gigi Gaspar scored the first two goals of her career on Saturday. Entering the game, she had just one shot in her career.
  • Mina Scott tied her career high with five goals against the Golden Bears. Her only other five-goal game came on April 16, 2023 at Colorado.

UP NEXT:
The Sun Devils will head to the Centennial State next weekend for a two-game slate, starting with Colorado on Friday, April 12 at 2 p.m. MST. The game is available on the Pac-12 Networks. ASU will also play the University of Denver on Sunday, April 14 at 12 p.m. MST.