TEMPE – Bela Puccinelli arrived in Tempe as a prolific goal scorer from Brazil by way of Hutchinson (Kan.) Community College. And those abilities were on full display in the near-30 minutes the Curitiba, Brazil native played as a substitute in Sun Devil Soccer’s 5-0 win over Buffalo on Sunday afternoon.
Entering the match for Peyton Marcisz just five minutes after Ella Kettles extended Arizona State’s lead out to 2-0 following her first goal of the season, Puccinelli was credited with two shot attempts over the next six minutes of the match before finding the back of the net for her first goal at a Sun Devil and pushing ASU’s advantage on the scoreboard out to three goals.
After the Sun Devils took a 4-0 lead into the locker rooms for halftime following a Jenna Whinney, who assisted on Puccinelli’s first-half goal, penalty kick conversion in the closing minute of the first 45 minutes.
The 4-goal lead stood for the first 21 minutes of the second half until Whinney and Maja Madon connected to find Puccinelli, who turned and beat a defender inside the 6-yard box to capture her first brace at the Division I level. She became the first first-year Sun Devil to record a brace since Sierra Bergen, who transferred to ASU from Mississippi State before the 2025 season, did so at Texas State on Aug. 24, 2025.
Puccinelli stayed on the attack – looking for the first hat trick by a Sun Devil since Kierra Blundell notched all three goals in a 3-0 ASU win over Penn on Sept. 1, 2024 – but was subbed off during the 77’ to complete her afternoon. The performance was just her third career collegiate multi-goal outing after having a hat trick against Garden City (Kan.) CC on Oct. 22, 2025 and a brace at Northern Oklahoma College-Enid on Aug. 31, 2025.
Scoring Summary
23’, 1-0, ASU, Goal by Miki Hayashi, Assist by Peyton Marcisz
25’, 2-0, ASU, Goal by Ella Kettles, Assist by Sierra Bergen
37’, 3-0, ASU, Goal by Bela Puccinelli, Assist by Sierra Bergen, Jenna Whinney
44’, 4-0, ASU, Penalty by Jenna Whinney
67’, 5-0, ASU, Goal by Bela Puccinelli, Assist by Maja Madon, Jenna Whinney
From head coach Graham Winkworth
“The eight substitutes we had available today all did a great job. It’s really hot out today, so it was great being able to rest some legs, while giving others quality minutes. We have a big match on Thursday, so we wanted to shift the minutes around. Our biggest thing is not only the rotation but having quality within the rotation. So, it was nice seeing those substitutes playing significant minutes while contributing to a solid match.”
From sophomore forward Bela Puccinelli
"I was just eager and happy to be back out there. I was injured a few weeks ago, so I was very happy with my performance today. I allowed the intensity to have a result in the area and do the things that I have been asked to do and just enjoy the game. I was very happy to just let the ball come, so I could do that.”
Match Notes
- Kennedy Zorn (71:45) and Izzy Duink (18:15) combined for a 90-minute clean sheet to mark the first career collegiate combined clean sheet for either Zorn or Duink.
- Sunday marked the first combined clean sheet by multiple Sun Devil goalkeepers since Sept. 14, 2022, when Birta Gudlaugsdottir (45:00) and Pauline Nelles (45:00) kept Grambling State off the scoreboard during ASU’s 5-0 win over the Tigers.
- Arizona State’s five goals are the most by the Sun Devils in a single match since Aug. 24, 2025 at Texas State.
- Sunday marked the first time multiple Sun Devils (Bela Puccinelli, Jenna Whinney) have been credited with four points – each – in the same match since Megan Sofield and Enasia Colon both recorded braces in a 6-0 win over Wagner on Aug. 18, 2024.
- By playing all 90 minutes of ASU’s win over Buffalo on Sunday, Lucy Fazackerley has now played all 90 minutes in a regular season match for the 40th time spanning her four-year collegiate career between two seasons at East Carolina and two seasons in Tempe.
Up Next
- Arizona State (2-0-1) will continue its four-match home stand on Thursday, Aug. 27, when the Sun Devils welcome the LSU Tigers (1-3-0) to Sun Devil Soccer Stadium for a 7 p.m. MST kickoff on ESPN+.
- The Tigers have dropped back-to-back matches against UCF (2-1) and Florida Gulf Coast (3-2) heading into Thursday’s matchup at ASU.
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