Lacrosse

ASU dominates Lindenwood 23-9 for its first win

TEMPE – Last week Arizona State lacrosse head coach Taryn VanThof Puls said her team this season has yet to play a complete game. In the first game of the season ASU outscored Oregon for the first three quarters, but lost when the Ducks had a resurgence and forced the game to overtime to defeat the Sun Devils 13-12. When the Sun Devils hosted Denver they were outmatched by the No. 22 team and couldn’t get into a rhythm offensively until the second quarter and were defeated 14-7.

ASU finally put together a full game that VanThof was searching for.

The Sun Devils matched their best scoring performance at half and added 11 more goals for a season-high in an impressive 23-9 win against Lindenwood, their first of the season, Saturday at Sun Devil Lacrosse Stadium.

“We needed to hit the gas pedal,” VanThof said. “We needed to make sure we were playing for a whole 60 minutes consistently.”

Eleven different players scored for the Sun Devils with six of those scorers doing it multiple times. Senior attackers Teagan Ng and Lydia Oldknow each had four goals and one assist.

Oldknow has a 41-game point-scoring streak. Ng’s performance now brings her 11 goals away from the all-time career goals record. When asked about the record Ng was unaware of being the third all-time scorer.

“It’s not super important to me,” Ng said. “I just want to play the best games that I can all the time and that is more what I prioritize.”

Halfway through the second quarter Ng showed her dedication to her teammates when senior attacker Jordyn Behar passed the ball to Ng on the right wing of the field. Ng dodged two Lions, but when she had an open look at the net she opted to pass to Oldknow. Oldknow charged toward the right side of the goal and then went for a dazzling behind-the-back shot. The display of passing and teamwork made the Lions confused which Sun Devil to cover for the rest of the game.

“We showcased all throughout the field different people scoring, different people assisting, and it was good to actually have a full 60 minutes of playing our game,” Oldknow said.

The passing attack was led by Behar running the offense from behind the Lions net. Behar had an all-around game with five assists and three goals from five shots. On defense Behar recovered two ground balls, forced one turnover and won a draw control.

“It felt good to be back out there during passes and finishing them,” Behar said. “We just focused on cutting and focused on our movement more this game and we played more of a team offense.”

Every mistake the Lions made the Sun Devils capitalized.

The first three goals in the second quarter came after either a green card or yellow card. The next two were scored from draw controls. The ball stayed with the Sun Devils for more than 10 minutes before the Lions were able to shoot against the Sun Devils.

“It’s a team offense,” Ng said. “It’s not just me, not just Lydia, not just Jordan. We all work together to produce exactly how we want to.”

The offensive production gave VanThof a chance to have more than 25 players time on the field. Every goalkeeper on the roster played for the Sun Devils. Sophomore goalkeeper Regan Spichiger has started every game this season, but was subbed in last week’s Denver game for freshman Gabriella Henry. Henry was named the Big 12 freshman-of-week for her 11 saves on 30 shots against Denver. In the fourth quarter junior Sara Flobeck was tested the most and delivered. Flobeck made five saves and allowed one goal as VanThof continues to find who will be the full-time goalie for the Sun Devils.

“Right now our goalies are battling it out at practice every single day … finding that consistency from the three of them is going to be really important for us, as we move forward and navigate deeper in the season,” VanThof said.

The Sun Devils will host Marquette next on February 24 at Sun Devil Lacrosse Stadium. The Golden Eagles are 3-1.