ASU Women’s Lacrosse: Sun Devils begin new regime on Saturday

Arizona State Women’s Lacrosse gets set to kick off the Taryn VanThof regime in Tempe, as they host St. Bonaventure for the first game of its season this weekend.

ASU was in need of a new head coach after previous head coach Tim McCormack accepted the job at John Hopkins University, and VanThof fit the bill.

VanThof was an elite lacrosse player in her own right, being named to the IWLCA All-American team three times while she was playing at Loyola University Maryland from 2011-15. She began her coaching career at Rutgers University where she was an assistant for a season, as the team managed its first conference tournament win since 1998.

VanThof joined the University of Florida coaching staff in 2017, as she helped guide the program to an 89-24 record in her six years with the team as an assistant.

The new woman in charge was ecstatic in her preseason press conference, as she made it clear she’s always had a dream of being a head lacrosse coach.

“Lacrosse being a lifestyle it’s so very true I’ve dreamed of being a head coach,” VanThof said. “For us moving forward we’re going to bring a brand of creativity, excitement, speed, and fundamentals and you’re going to see my passion within that.”

ASU has a foundation to build off of this season after falling in the Pac-12 Conference tournament to end last year’s campaign (11-8, 7-3 Pac-12). The Sun Devils were nationally ranked No. 28 in the NCAA RPI rankings and finished third in conference play, only one game back of joint first, Stanford and USC.

This season’s squad is considerably young, rostering 23 underclassmen. The Sun Devils did lose key seniors like attacker Carley Adams, who led the Pac-12 last season with 79 total points and finished top-five in goals and assists in the conference.

Junior attacker Mina Scott is a name to watch out for to fill Adams shoes. She failed to start in any games last season but still totalled 17 points in 18 games off the bench for ASU, and will likely have a larger role to play offensively this season.

Sophomore goalie Katie Vale also returns after finishing third in the Pac-12 in saves and save percentage last season. The standout freshman became the first Sun Devil to win Pac-12 defender of the week four times in a single season, and she’ll look to repeat her stellar campaign from last year.

The first test for ASU comes against St. Bonaventure, a program that left much to be desired last year, finishing with a 1-14 record and ranking 113 out of 118 Division I programs. The Bonnies are led by junior attacker Abby Hiltz, who had a team-high 37 points last season.