TEMPE – The opening weekend of the 2024 soccer season will conclude on Sunday when Sun Devil Soccer welcomes Wagner. The action at Sun Devil Soccer Stadium is scheduled to begin at 6 p.m. AZT.
ASU will enter the contest at 0-0-1 on the season after securing a 1-1 draw against Northern Arizona on Friday night. Sunday's game is the second of three straight at home for the Sun Devils to begin the season.
Kierra Blundell scored the season's first goal in the 20th minute against NAU. She also led the team with four shots and three shots on goal in the opener. Cameron Valladares picked up an assist on the ASU tally. Lucy Johnson, Keri Matthews, and Megan Sofield each took two shots. Pauline Nelles posted four saves.
WATCH: ESPN+ will carry 11 Sun Devil home games and every Big 12 road game. ESPN+ is available via the ESPN App, ESPN.com or espnplus.com. Subscribers can watch it via most major mobile and connected TV platforms, including iPhone, iPad, AppleTV, Android devices, Roku, and Chromecast.
SERIES NOTES: Sunday's game is the first-ever meeting between the Sun Devil and Seahawks. It is also the first time ASU has played a team from the Northeast Conference in the program's history.
ABOUT WAGNER: Wagner makes the trip to Tempe from Staten Island, N.Y., following a scoreless draw with Rider on Thursday. The Seahawks attempted 10 shots in the game, with five on target.
Olivia Rubbo led the Seahawks offensively with five shots while putting four on goal. Five different players had one shot apiece. Sam Hughes went the distance in goal and finished with five saves.
EXPERIENCED ROSTER: This 2024 Sun Devil squad returns 20 players from last year's tournament team. That group includes 16 players who appeared in the NCAA Tournament game at Santa Clara, along with nine regular starters, four of the top five point leaders, and the starting keeper.
The 29 players on the squad have played a combined total of 671 games and scored 159 points. The 21 returners accounted for 72 percent of the team's points and 80 percent of the minutes played.
HOME COOKING: With the draw against NAU on Friday, Arizona State remained unbeaten at home in 17 (11-0-6) consecutive non-conference home games dating back to the 2019 season. They also moved to 16-3-5 when playing at home during August.
The Sun Devils have 12 home games on the schedule in 2024, the most since ASU played 15 during the 2000 season, the year the facility opened. ASU is 119-74-28 (.602) at Sun Devil Soccer Stadium.
FRESHMAN PHENOM: Kierra Blundell made an impression in her collegiate debut, scoring her first career goal and taking a team-leading four shots.
Blundell became the first freshman to score in the season opener for ASU since Nicole Douglas scored against Montana in the first game of the 2018 season.
CAPTAIN DANGEROUS: Lucy Johnson created a pair of dangerous scoring chances in her first game as captain of the Sun Devils. She opened with a shot from distance that caromed off the crossbar in the third minute. Johnson then had a chance in the 67th minute pushed over the bar by the NAU keeper.
WELCOME TO ASU: Eight players took the pitch in an ASU kit for the first time on Friday night. That included five freshmen making their collegiate debuts. Four of the 11 starters were playing their first games in the Maroon & Gold, including both players involved in the goal.
90-MINUTE CLUB: A trio of Sun Devil defenders went the full 90 minutes during Friday's game with Northern Arizona. Meighan Farrell, Grace Gillard, and Lauren Kirberg each went the distance and helped hold the Lumberjacks to just five shots on goal.
COLON CLIMBS: Colon became the 26th player in program history to record 20 points in a season in 2023. She played in 20 games – all starts – and finished with 1,368 minutes while being named Second Team All-Pac-12.
Her 11 career goals are tied for 20th in team history, and five more move her into a tie for 15th. Colon had three multi-goal games last season and added three game-winners.
NELLES NOTES: Nelles sits sixth in program history with 19 wins and fifth with 12 shutouts. She enters Sunday's game having played 2,700 consecutive minutes in goal for the Sun Devils.
Nelles holds four of the 25 longest shutout streaks in program history, including 336 minutes and 37 seconds over a four-game span last October.
Top Drawer Soccer ranked Nelles No. 21 in their Preseason Top 100 Players list. She was the highest-ranked player from the Big 12 and was also named to the TDS Preseason Bext XI Second Team.
BIG 12 TRIO: Colon, Johnson, and Nelles were named to the 2024 Big 12 Preseason Soccer Team, making ASU one of five programs with at least three selections.
Colon was one of the 10 juniors named to the team, while Nelles was one of two goalkeepers on the team.
LOOKING AHEAD: The season-opening three-game homestand will conclude on Thursday when Little Rock comes to Tempe to face the Sun Devils at 7 p.m. AZT.
ASU will enter the contest at 0-0-1 on the season after securing a 1-1 draw against Northern Arizona on Friday night. Sunday's game is the second of three straight at home for the Sun Devils to begin the season.
Kierra Blundell scored the season's first goal in the 20th minute against NAU. She also led the team with four shots and three shots on goal in the opener. Cameron Valladares picked up an assist on the ASU tally. Lucy Johnson, Keri Matthews, and Megan Sofield each took two shots. Pauline Nelles posted four saves.
WATCH: ESPN+ will carry 11 Sun Devil home games and every Big 12 road game. ESPN+ is available via the ESPN App, ESPN.com or espnplus.com. Subscribers can watch it via most major mobile and connected TV platforms, including iPhone, iPad, AppleTV, Android devices, Roku, and Chromecast.
SERIES NOTES: Sunday's game is the first-ever meeting between the Sun Devil and Seahawks. It is also the first time ASU has played a team from the Northeast Conference in the program's history.
ABOUT WAGNER: Wagner makes the trip to Tempe from Staten Island, N.Y., following a scoreless draw with Rider on Thursday. The Seahawks attempted 10 shots in the game, with five on target.
Olivia Rubbo led the Seahawks offensively with five shots while putting four on goal. Five different players had one shot apiece. Sam Hughes went the distance in goal and finished with five saves.
EXPERIENCED ROSTER: This 2024 Sun Devil squad returns 20 players from last year's tournament team. That group includes 16 players who appeared in the NCAA Tournament game at Santa Clara, along with nine regular starters, four of the top five point leaders, and the starting keeper.
The 29 players on the squad have played a combined total of 671 games and scored 159 points. The 21 returners accounted for 72 percent of the team's points and 80 percent of the minutes played.
HOME COOKING: With the draw against NAU on Friday, Arizona State remained unbeaten at home in 17 (11-0-6) consecutive non-conference home games dating back to the 2019 season. They also moved to 16-3-5 when playing at home during August.
The Sun Devils have 12 home games on the schedule in 2024, the most since ASU played 15 during the 2000 season, the year the facility opened. ASU is 119-74-28 (.602) at Sun Devil Soccer Stadium.
FRESHMAN PHENOM: Kierra Blundell made an impression in her collegiate debut, scoring her first career goal and taking a team-leading four shots.
Blundell became the first freshman to score in the season opener for ASU since Nicole Douglas scored against Montana in the first game of the 2018 season.
CAPTAIN DANGEROUS: Lucy Johnson created a pair of dangerous scoring chances in her first game as captain of the Sun Devils. She opened with a shot from distance that caromed off the crossbar in the third minute. Johnson then had a chance in the 67th minute pushed over the bar by the NAU keeper.
WELCOME TO ASU: Eight players took the pitch in an ASU kit for the first time on Friday night. That included five freshmen making their collegiate debuts. Four of the 11 starters were playing their first games in the Maroon & Gold, including both players involved in the goal.
90-MINUTE CLUB: A trio of Sun Devil defenders went the full 90 minutes during Friday's game with Northern Arizona. Meighan Farrell, Grace Gillard, and Lauren Kirberg each went the distance and helped hold the Lumberjacks to just five shots on goal.
COLON CLIMBS: Colon became the 26th player in program history to record 20 points in a season in 2023. She played in 20 games – all starts – and finished with 1,368 minutes while being named Second Team All-Pac-12.
Her 11 career goals are tied for 20th in team history, and five more move her into a tie for 15th. Colon had three multi-goal games last season and added three game-winners.
NELLES NOTES: Nelles sits sixth in program history with 19 wins and fifth with 12 shutouts. She enters Sunday's game having played 2,700 consecutive minutes in goal for the Sun Devils.
Nelles holds four of the 25 longest shutout streaks in program history, including 336 minutes and 37 seconds over a four-game span last October.
Top Drawer Soccer ranked Nelles No. 21 in their Preseason Top 100 Players list. She was the highest-ranked player from the Big 12 and was also named to the TDS Preseason Bext XI Second Team.
BIG 12 TRIO: Colon, Johnson, and Nelles were named to the 2024 Big 12 Preseason Soccer Team, making ASU one of five programs with at least three selections.
Colon was one of the 10 juniors named to the team, while Nelles was one of two goalkeepers on the team.
LOOKING AHEAD: The season-opening three-game homestand will conclude on Thursday when Little Rock comes to Tempe to face the Sun Devils at 7 p.m. AZT.