After five wins in non-conference, the Sun Devils starts Big 12 slate with Utah

Photo: Mason Chiu/WCSN

Starting Friday night, Arizona State soccer starts its quest to the Big 12 tournament after going 3-5-3 in the conference a year ago.

ASU (5-1-2) is coming off an 8-0 win over Grambling State, where it set four program records. Friday night, the Sun Devils take on Utah (3-3-2) in their first conference match of the season.

On Friday, Sept. 11, ASU set single-match program records for goals with eight, points with 40, and shots with 26, as well as the margin of victory record of eight.

That match capped off an impressive non-conference record of 5-1-2, with the only loss being to then-No. 9-ranked North Carolina. Last year, head coach Graham Winkworth led the squad to an undefeated non-conference performance. 

In that 2025 season, the Sun Devils missed the Big 12 tournament.

Like ASU, Utah was above .500 in non-conference contests last season. But its two conference wins kept the squad out of the tournament.

ASU owns a 5-2-3 record against Utah in Tempe all-time. However, the Utes have the edge at 8-7-4 overall.

In their most recent contest, the Sun Devils prevailed 1-0 on Oct. 23, 2025. That was the first ASU win over Utah in Salt Lake City since 2014.

The Utes are coming off a 5-1 win over Long Beach State on the road, where they allowed just one shot on goal. They also achieved their highest goal total on the road since 2007.

Despite only playing 246 minutes, the Utes’ leading scorer is junior midfielder Katie Callaway. She has scored three of the squad’s 12 goals this season.

Utah’s redshirt senior goalkeeper Anna Solomon was this season’s first conference goalkeeper of the week and holds a .778 save percentage. Friday night, she faces a team that has scored 21 goals in eight games.

ASU’s offense has come from 11 different goal scorers; if one more Sun Devil can get on the score sheet, it would be the most in ASU’s history under Winkworth. Senior midfielder Emmie Ennis and junior forward Kierra Blundell lead the way with three goals apiece.

Those scorers are often assisted; junior forward Sierra Bergen has been credited with four assists this season, the most of anybody in the maroon and gold. ASU ranks 11th nationally in assists per game with 3.13.

On the other end of the pitch, the Sun Devils have posted five clean sheets led by sophomore goalkeeper Kennedy Zorn. Her 0.55 goals-against average is the fifth-best of any Big 12 keeper.

Freshman defender Amy Medley was named the most recent Big 12 freshman of the week. She has only started three matches, but tabbed the most minutes of any player against Grambling State and notched two assists.

ASU’s diverse roster has now had five different players named to a Big 12 weekly honor. If one more can make the list, this squad would have the most Sun Devil honorees in a single season.

Now in his 10th year, Winkworth is 6-1-2 in conference openers. One of those wins came last year against No. 10-ranked BYU. A win Friday night would not only even the all-time series with the Utes, but it would also be the first time ASU has gone back-to-back in Big 12 conference openers.

The non-Big 12 opponents are in the rearview mirror. The Sun Devils and Utes start with a clean slate at 7 p.m. MST from Sun Devil Soccer Stadium.

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