Soccer faces Texas in first of three-game road trip

TEMPE – Sun Devil Soccer returns to the pitch on Thursday when it faces Texas in Austin for Arizona State’s first road match of the season, scheduled for 5 p.m. MST at Mike A. Myers Stadium and Soccer Field. 

The match can be seen on SEC Network+, which is part of ESPN+ that requires a subscription. 

The Sun Devils meet the Longhorns for the first time since August 22, 2014 when both sides played to a 2-2 draw in extra time at the Outriggers Resorts Shootout in Honolulu, Hawaii. Texas holds a 1-0-2 series advantage and this will mark the second trip to Austin for the Sun Devils since 2008.

ASU opened the season at home last Thursday with a 2-0 clean sheet victory over Nevada with goals by Miki Hayashi and Peyton Marcisz. Veteran goalkeeper Pauline Nelles secured her 19th career shutout with two saves to secure the victory.

The Sun Devils finished their first contest outshooting the Wildcats 18-5, with 11 shots coming on goal. ASU also managed 12 corner kicks last Thursday without allowing Nevada a corner kick opportunity. 

Defender Addison Baltodano registered a team-leading four shots, three coming on goal in 45:22 minutes of playing time. Forwards Tatum Thomason and Cameron Valladores combined for six shots, three being on goal with Valladores earning an assist in the second half.

About Texas:
The Longhorns dropped their season opener against Northwestern State with a 3-2 result and totaled a 25-7 advantage in shots, with 16 coming on goal. They rebounded with a 2-1 victory over Long Beach State last Sunday.

Reigning SEC Freshman of the Year Amalia Villarreal has one goal and leads the team in shots with 12, 10 coming on net. Last season, Texas went 17-4-2 with a 10-1-2 record at home. The Longhorns then won the SEC tournament and made the second round of the NCAA Tournament before falling to No. 16 Michigan State, 2-3, in overtime.

Nelles in Net:
The senior goalkeeper has made 58-straight starts in goal for the Sun Devils and notched her 19th career shutout in the win over the Wildcats. Currently, with 231 career saves, she ranks fourth in program history and is one of five Sun Devils to have recorded 200+ saves in their career. She has played 4,410 consecutive minutes in goal for the Sun Devils. Nelles is three wins away from surpassing Kim Bingham (2003-06) for third in program history in career wins.

The senior goalie is five clean sheets away from tying Chandley Morris (2011-15) for most shutouts by an ASU goalie in program history. She is aiming to become the second Sun Devil goalie to have 20+ shutouts in a career.

Career Wins
1.	44	Erin Reinke	1997-00
2.	39	Chandler Morris	2011-15
3.	30	Kim Bingham	2003-06
4.	28	Pauline Nelles	2022-Present

 

Career Shutouts
1.	24	Chandler Morris	2011-15
2.	19	Pauline Nelles	2022-Present
3.	16	Kim Bingham	2003-06
4.	15	Briana Silvestri	2006-09

Milestone watch:

• Pauline Nelles is 34 saves away from surpassing Kim Bingham for third in program history.
• Nelles is two starts away from making 60 career starts at goalie, which would rank fourth by a goalie in ASU history.
• Forward Cameron Valladares is four games away from 50 career matches.
• Valladares is two points away from 30 career points.
• Washington transfer Tatum Thomason is 3 starts away from 50 career starts.
• Thomason is 2 goals away from 10 career goals.

Early Season Success:
Since 2018 the Sun Devils have had a run of success in the opening month of play, compiling a 15-0-6 record in the month of August. ASU has outscored teams 62-13 in those games.

Preseason Recognition:
Reigning Big 12 Freshman of the Year Kierra Blundell was named to the 2025 Big 12 Preseason Team and is the only sophomore forward to make the list. She earned spots on the 2024 Big 12 Second Team All-Conference honors and on the 2024 Big 12 All-Freshman list.

Welcome to Tempe:
The Sun Devils have welcomed 14 new players to the roster and return 12 players from the 2024 season. Midfielder Miki Hayashi made an impact last week with the first Sun Devil goal of the year from a corner kick after playing her freshman season at Tyler Junior College. In addition, UCLA transfer Peyton Marcisz registered her first career goal in the win over Nevada last Thursday.

Spanning the Globe:
The Sun Devil soccer team has 17 international student-athletes competing, led by Canada with seven players. England (four) and South Africa (two) also have multiple players, while Japan, Norway, Germany and the Netherlands have one player each.

Barrett, The Honors College:
The Sun Devils have nine student-athletes enrolled in Barrett, The Honors College. Honors students are diverse and come from a wide range of backgrounds. Barrett students take additional honors courses and are required to complete a thesis during their college experience. 

Soccer student-athletes in Barrett, The Honors College:
Norah Bell, Business
Kierra Blundell, Sports Science and Performance Programming
Addison Haws, Biological Sciences (Biomedical Sciences)
Miki Hayashi, Data Science
Olivia Herrera, Business (Sports Business)
Brianna Nunley, Marketing
Katie Ozard, Medical Studies
Tano Uzezi-Itesa, Health Sciences
Ava Wright, Biological Sciences, (Biomedical Sciences)

Blundell’s Best:
Appearing in all 19 matches as a freshman last season, Blundell garnered 2024 Big 12 Freshman of the Year honors and scored a team-best nine goals, which was ninth nationally among freshmen last year and eighth in the Big 12 overall. 

The sophomore had two multi-goal games last season, including a hat trick against Penn. Her two game-winning goals came against Houston and Penn. In 2024, the Sun Devils were 7-3-1 when Blundell registered at least one point in a match.

Looking Ahead:
ASU continues its three-match road trip with a match against Texas State on Sunday, August 24 at 9 a.m. MST in San Marcos, Texas, which can be seen on ESPN+.

Be sure to stay connected with Sun Devil Soccer throughout the season on social media by following @SunDevilSoccer on Instagram, X (formerly twitter), and Facebook.