Coming off of back-to-back losses Arizona State Lacrosse (3-2) has the opportunity to get back into the win column against a scrappy St Joseph’s Hawks (1-4) team this Saturday in Tempe.
ASU began the season with three consecutive victories in games against lesser competition before they dropped a pair in matches versus better competition, losing to Denver and USC in neutral matches. In its prior match with the Trojans, ASU fought valiantly till the end behind senior goalkeeper Katie Vahle’s career-high 18 saves. Elite performances in both games from senior midfielder Bella Ingrao earned her Big 12 Midfielder of the Week honors. Both Vahle and Ingrao are primed to play a big role when St. Joe’s comes to town.
To say St. Joe’s has faced a hard schedule would be an understatement. The Hawks have had matches with three ranked teams and have only faced a singular non power conference squad, Temple, who they dispatched of in their only win of the season to this point. Matches with No. 9 Maryland, No. 18 Navy, and No. 22 Penn State assure that St. Joe’s will not be scared to face ASU, something the Sun Devils should be cognizant of.
St. Joe’s has struggled on offense up to this point only having three players in double digits, in comparison, ASU boasts three players with 20 or more points on the season. The Hawks are led by one of the best passers in the country, junior attacker Alexa Capozzoli. In the aforementioned win over Temple, Capozzoli had an astounding eight assists. The 2023 Atlantic 10 Rookie of the Year will give the Sun Devils all they can handle on defense.
The Batman to Capozzoli’s Robin is senior midfielder Maddie Yoder. Yoder is a pure goalscorer, finding the back of the net an impressive 13 times already this season, a mark that leads St. Joe’s. Between the pipes for the Hawks will be fifth-year goalkeeper Jorden Concordia. Concordia was last year’s A10 Goalkeeper of the Year and will be a tough lock to pick for the potent Sun Devil offense.
Saturday’s clash will mark the first meeting between ASU and St. Joe’s. It will be the Hawks’ first game on their West Coast trip, and a meeting with the same USC team that defeated ASU looms for them next Tuesday. It is an interesting matchup that pits a power conference ASU team against a high-quality mid-major squad like St. Joe’s who has made an appearance in the NCAA tournament as recently as three years ago. Litmus tests like this are so important in finding out where your team fits in the country’s outlook, surely something head coach Taryn VanThof had in mind when this game was scheduled.
Between the high-level play of Vahle in the crease and the struggles of St Joe’s on the offensive side of the ball in its losses, there should be a clear game plan for ASU in the clash. If they can continue to stay strong on defense and work in transition looking for odd-numbered rushes, ASU can control the tempo and play the game at its preferred pace. This will be important because as mentioned before, St. Joe’s has faced great teams already and will view ASU as a chance to gain some momentum before they visit Los Angeles next week.
