ASU earns fourth consecutive win with Big 12 play in sight

(Photo Courtesy of Sun Devil Athletics)

Tempe – Saturday, Arizona State Lacrosse (7-2) knocked off Furman (5-2) in the final game of its four home game stretch with a final score of 18-11.

ASU came ready to bring the heat, with junior attacker Lydia Oldknow scoring her first goal only 13 seconds into the game.

“Scoring within like 13 seconds on the clock is huge.” Oldknow said. “That was definitely a big momentum and confidence booster. I definitely needed that for myself and the team to just keep going.”

Less than five minutes into the game, Oldknow had already accumulated a hat trick. Ending with six total goals, Oldknow reached a new career high of goals scored in a singular game. By halftime, Oldknow was by far the person with the biggest mark on the scoreboard. Contributing nearly half of the Sun Devils’ first half goals.

Sun Devil sophomore midfielder Anna Viglione has continuously been a big part of the Sun Devils offensive success. Viglione is the Sun Devils’ go-to for faceoffs. When she wins her faceoffs, Viglione is quick to move the Sun Devils into their opponent’s defensive zone. She also seems to be a big part of the Sun Devils’ transition from their defensive zone to their opponents, seeming that more often than not, the ball goes to her between ASU’s defensive and offensive players. In their win against Furman, Viglione reached a new career high with 16 draw controls.

Arizona State Head Coach Taryn VanThof Puls commented on how with the matchup against Furman wasn’t a competitive contest compared to two of the Sun Devils last four wins, the physicality of the game was at a different level. Which results in things like fewer cards and fouls, as well as changing the amount of dominance a team shows.

“In tight games physicality and aggression comes out.” VanThof Puls said. “I wish we were a little bit more aggressive and assertive in some moments.”

ASU never let Furman get too caught up, scoring five goals in a row in around a five-minute period of time during the first quarter without any retaliation from Furman.

Furman was able to get on the board right after Oldknow’s first goal when freshman attacker Lily Toole got a goal off of a free shot. Going into halftime with an eight-point lead, 13-5, the Sun Devils had seven players contributing goals.

Going into halftime with a major lead its important that ASU didn’t get ahead of itself continuing to execute at a high level to maintain and build upon its lead. This is a familiar concept for the Sun Devils, as they have been on both sides of the scoreboard at halftime this season. Either having a hefty lead or trailing with the other team having a hefty lead.

With ASU entering Big 12 conference play in two weeks, March 29 against Cincinnati, the team is looking forward to playing against teams they haven’t played before.

“I’m excited.” Oldknow said. “There’ll be a huge confidence booster for us to play against these new teams. And we’re super excited to come out hot and hopefully pull some wins in the Big 12.”

In addition to playing new teams, the Sun Devils are also excited to seek out the opportunity to make the NCAA tournament.

“Conference is what you play for. You know, that’s what gets you to the NCAA tournament.” VanThof Puls said. “It’s really just finding a consistent rhythm for us. We’ve rotated through some different individuals on our different sets.”

With being in a new conference and having a team that is constantly evolving, the Sun Devils have also been trying to find different combinations of players that work the best on the field together.

The Sun Devils came into the matchup hoping to extend their three-game winning streak to four. While Furman was looking for a win after coming off of their first loss of the season, losing to UMBC the week prior, coming just short with an end score of 11-13.

With two of the Sun Devils last three wins being close games where the final score was a one goal differential, winning this game by seven goals was a confidence booster. Along with their current four-game win streak, ASU has positive momentum to build off on for their upcoming game against Dartmouth on March 21 at 10 a.m. AZT.