Valladares Early Goal Nets 1-1 Draw at Texas

Austin, Texas – Kicking off a three-game road trip, Sun Devil Soccer earned a 1-1 draw against Texas (1-1-1) Thursday night at Mike A. Myers Stadium in Austin, Texas.

The Sun Devils continue their road trip with a match against Texas State on Sunday, August 24 at 9 a.m. MST in San Marcos, Texas on ESPN+.

Arizona State (1-0-1) scored off the right foot of Cameron Valladares 41 seconds into the game after the ball deflected off of the Texas goalie and rolled into the net. The goal marks the fourth fastest goal scored by a Sun Devil in program history, which gave the Sun Devils an early 1-0 lead. Sierra Bergen registered her first assist of the season and her first as a Sun Devil. For Valladares, it's her eighth goal as a Sun Devil and her 12th career goal.

FASTEST GOAL SCORED
0:18	Katie Mahoney	vs. Cal Poly	Nov. 14, 2003
0:27	Aly Moon	vs. Northern Arizona	Nov. 15, 2014
0:37	Olivia Nguyen	vs. LSU	Sept. 5, 2021
0:41	Cameron Valladares	at. Texas	Aug. 21, 2025

"There are a lot of positives to be taken from tonight. I felt like we were unbelievable in the first half controlling the game both in and out of possession. The discipline the girls showed in sticking to the game plan was exceptional," said ASU head coach Graham Winkworth. "Texas is a very well-coached and gifted team and so to score so early was huge for us. The only thing I was disappointed with was from the first half was that we were not clinical enough as I felt like we should have come in two or three up and potentially put the game more out of sight."

Texas would equalize in the 59th minute off a header to tie the match at one, where they generated six shots on goal in the second half. Nelles made a critical save in the 65th minute by stopping a breakaway chance by the Longhorns to keep the match tied at one.

"Ultimately, the 1-goal lead was not enough and Texas came back with a couple of adjustments in the second half that initially created some headaches for us. I was disappointed with our defending on their goal as we knew who the biggest aerial threats were and failed to deal with it," said Winkworth.

Winkworth added, "We did show immense character and started to create more chances of our own as the game went on. Ultimately, a draw was probably a fair result over the 90 minutes. I was delighted for Cam (Valladares) to get her first goal of the season. She deserved that for all the defensive running she did."

ASU had a scoring chance in the 73rd minute off a cross that deflected off Valladare’s right foot, which went wide of the goal. Another opportunity in the 80th minute came from Bergen, who struck a ball off her right foot but it was within reach by the Texas goalie. Neither side generated many chances in the closing minutes.

"Pauli (Nelles) did Pauli things in the second half keeping it 1-1 and pulling off some magical saves. I was delighted for Tano (Uzezi-Itesa) who came on and made an impact in her home state in front of friends and family. There were a lot of very strong performances overall." said Winkworth.

The Sun Devils generated a trio of chances on goal in the first 25 minutes of the match where Valladares led the team with two shots on goal in the opening half.

On the night, ASU attempted 14 shots, five coming on goal while Valladares and Bergen led the team with two shots on goal apiece. The Sun Devils held a 9-2 advantage on corner kicks throughout the match.

Tatum Thomason and Valladares led the team with three shots attempts, as six Sun Devils each managed at least two shot attempts during the match.

Nelles managed five saves in goal, all coming in the second half.

"The thing that delighted me the most though came after the game and gave me so much joy. Immediately after the match, two seniors in Meighan (Farell) and (Ava) Wright walked straight over to Norah, a freshman who plays the same position as them both." Winkworth said, "They congratulated her on her performance despite not getting to play a minute themselves. This for me, epitomizes the culture within our locker room. Those two young ladies, and I'm sure others too, put the team before themselves and deserve this positive result as much as anyone else. I am so proud to be their coach!"

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