ASU Soccer: Sun Devils prepare to host annual Sun Devil Desert Classic

(Photo: Nicholas Badders/WCSN)

Arizona State (1–0–0, 0–0–0 Pac-12)

Friday, August 31 – New Hampshire (2–2–0, 0–0–0 America East) – 7:00 PM

Sunday, September 2 – Southeast Missouri State (1–2–0, 0–0–0 Ohio Valley) – 1:30 PM

Arizona State women’s soccer returns to action this weekend, hosting the sixth annual Sun Devil Desert Classic. ASU will welcome Arizona, New Hampshire, and Southeast Missouri State to Sun Devil Soccer Stadium, with a total of four matches spread across two days of action.

Last time out: Arizona State opened the regular season victorious, claiming a 3–1 victory against the Montana Grizzlies on August 23. ASU was initially supposed to travel to Hawaii to play the Rainbow Wahine, as well as Montana, but saw that trip canceled by the arrival of Hurricane Lane. Instead, the Sun Devils and Grizzlies faced off in Tempe, a game that would be further marred by more than two hours of weather delays both before and during the match.

Sun Devil freshman Nicole Douglas flourished in her first collegiate game, scoring on both sides of a half hour weather delay to lead ASU to the victory. Freshman Cori Sullivan would tack on a goal with 25 minutes to play, adding to the assist she had tallied on the opening goal.

Senior goalkeeper Sydney Day started the first regular season match of her collegiate career, making five saves to get the win. She only conceded one goal, coming on a deflection after a blocked shot.

Up next: Arizona State will face the New Hampshire Wildcats, members of the America East Conference, on Friday night. The Wildcats have already played four matches this season, but this will be just their second on the road.

The Wildcats opened the season with a pair of overtime victories, scoring in the 100^th minute to defeat Rhode Island and in the 101^st minute to take down Holy Cross. Since then, New Hampshire has suffered a pair of defeats: 2–0 to nationally-ranked Princeton, and 4–0 against Massachusetts.

New Hampshire is led in the attack by sophomore midfielder Casey Peterson and junior forward Ally Reynolds. Peterson did not play in the Wildcats’ most recent match but has tallied a goal and two assists so far on the young season. Reynolds, meanwhile, has had a flair for the dramatic: she provided the game-winning goals in overtime against Rhode Island and Holy Cross.

Mia Neas is expected to start in goal for New Hampshire, as she has done for all four matches this season. The fifth-year senior has conceded nine goals but has also made 27 saves so far this year. In the defeat against Princeton, she tied a career high by making nine saves.

Sunday afternoon: With their second game of the weekend, the Sun Devils will face off with the Southeast Missouri State Redhawks, members of the Ohio Valley Conference. SEMO will be playing away from home for the first time, after winning once and losing twice at Houck Field to begin the season.

Southeast Missouri State has been competitive to open the year, but unable to break through against Division I opposition. In their season opener, the Redhawks took a lead shortly after halftime against Evansville but conceded twice in the final 25 minutes to fall to a 2–1 defeat. They then suffered a 1–0 loss against Missouri State, but bounced back in their most recent game with a 3–0 victory against Illinois-Springfield, a Division II school.

Freshman forward Morgan McCourt has been the offensive catalyst this season for the Redhawks, leading the team with two goals. Sophomore forward Emily Holten, a Mississippi transfer, only has one shot on goal but has tallied two assists in three matches.

Three goalkeepers have seen playing time this year for Southeast Missouri State, led by sophomore Maddie Gleeson. She started each of the Redhawks’ first two matches, making four saves against Evansville but allowing Missouri State to score with their only shot on target. Against Illinois-Springfield, redshirt freshman Kayla Bird and true freshman Bailey Redden each played a half and made one save.

Players to watch: For New Hampshire, junior forward Kaylan Williams will be looking to break out this weekend. The Indiana native has yet to score this season, but her nine shots are a team high. She may still be looking to make up for a missed penalty in overtime against Holy Cross.

SEMO midfielder Esmie Gonzales has been dangerous, but unlucky in her attacking efforts so far. The diminutive junior, standing just 4’10”, has six shots on target this season, but just one goal to show. She missed two penalty kicks in the defeat to Missouri State.

Series history: Arizona State will be playing both New Hampshire and Southeast Missouri State for the first time in program history.

Full schedule: Four teams will be taking part in this weekend’s Sun Devil Desert Classic: Arizona, Arizona State, New Hampshire, and Southeast Missouri State. The Sun Devils and Arizona will not face each other this weekend, and the Wildcats and Redhawks will also not play each other.

Friday, August 31

Arizona (2–1–0) vs. Southeast Missouri State (1–2–0) – 4:30 PM

Arizona State (1–0–0) vs. New Hampshire (2–2–0) – 7:00 PM

Sunday, September 2

Arizona vs. New Hampshire – 11:00 AM

Arizona State vs. Southeast Missouri State – 1:30 PM

Looking ahead: Arizona State will begin a three-game road swing following this weekend’s matches. They will head down to Tucson, Arizona next Friday, officially playing a neutral-site game against Baylor as part of the Arizona Tournament. That match will be followed by trips to play South Dakota State and Northern Arizona on September 10 and September 14, respectively.