ASU Soccer faces in Arizona in crucial Rivalry Game

(Photo By: Sam Farsky/ WCSN)

Tempe – After its loss to Kansas (8-5-4, 5-4-1) earlier this week, Arizona State women’s soccer (8-6-3, 3-6-1) is in Tempe for its last game of the season. The Sun Devils take on its in-state rival University of Arizona Wildcats (10-5-2, 5-4-1) in the Territorial Cup, which also will honor its seven seniors after the game.

ASU currently sits at 6-3-2 at home and currently sit 10th in the Big 12 conference, while the Wildcats are 3-4-1 away and ranked ninth in the Big 12. The Sun Devils hope to bounce back this game after being 1-4 in their last five matchups.

Arizona is coming off a 5-1 win against Kansas State (3-11-3, 0-8-2). They are ranked ninth, right above the Sun Devils, in the Big 12 Conference. Six of the last ten games for the Wildcats have been at home, this will be their first time leaving Tucson since October 13th.

Senior midfielder Gianna Christiansen stood out for the Wildcats in the game against Kansas State. She recorded one goal and two assists in the win. She is tied with graduate forward Nicole Dallin for first on the team recording eight goals this season with four assists. Christiansen has a .611 shot-on-goal percentage and has 20 points on the season. Dallin has played 17 games this season for the Wildcats and holds the most shots on goal with 23. She has bagged two goals in the last five games with two assists.

For the Wildcats, junior goalkeeper Olivia Ramey has been a strong defensive addition. The transfer from Oklahoma recorded 53 saves in 16 games this season.

The matchup between the two last season ended with a 2-1 Wildcat win. Although, this matchup could be different for the Sun Devils. They have a 10-4 record at home when playing the Wildcats, and last won in 2022 to snap a seven-game losing streak in the series. They sit at 139th in the NCAA RPI rankings and average 1.00 points per game and 1.82 goals per game. They had eight multi-goal games this season and are 8-0 when scoring at least two or more goals in a game.

Defensively for the Sun Devils, junior goalkeeper Pauline Nelles recorded her sixth shutout this season against Kansas State and now ranks 51st in the NCAA. She is also second in ASU history with 18 career shutouts. Nelles records a 73.3 save percentage against shots on goal this season. Overall, she is fourth all-time at ASU with 220 saves and 27 wins.

On the offensive side are the big three names that sparked interest all season, freshman forward Kierra Blundell and junior forwards Enasia Colon and Cameron Valladares. Blundell currently leads the team with eight goals and 22 points, making her ninth in ASU history for goals scored as a freshman. Colon, Blundell, and Valladares each have recorded a multi-goal game this season. Blundell recorded the first hat trick since 2022, Colon recorded two games in which she has scored a goal twice, and Valladares had ASU’s two goals in their 5-2 loss against LSU earlier this season.

Similar to Nelles and Blundell, Colon is setting her own records and climbing up the ASU rankings every game. She has seven goals on the season, and her assist last week against Kansas State was the 16th of her career and moved her up to ninth at ASU. She is ranked top 20 at ASU in shots, shots on goal, and shot percentage.

Valladares has been a part of this rivalry twice in her career, but this time she is on the other side of the Territorial Cup. She is playing against her old home this time around after transferring to ASU from Arizona. This is a historical season for her career as well. She has four game-winning goals on the season. She is tied in the Big 12 for game-winning goals and is one of 41 players with multiple game-winners this season. Valladares has scored three goals in her last six games with the Sun Devils.

The Sun Devils end their regular season in Tempe tonight at 7 p.m. AZT. ASU secured a spot in the Big 12 tournament, its first conference tournament in program history, and will head to Kansas City to play in the first round on Wednesday. A win against the Wildcats secures the 10th seed for the Sun Devils, otherwise, they finish anywhere from 10th to 12th seed.