(Photo Courtesy/Sun Devil Athletics)
Following a pair of exhausting, season-opening losses to No. 10 Michigan and No. 6 Northwestern, the Arizona State Sun Devils Women’s Lacrosse (1-2) team entered their home opener on Friday against San Diego State in need of an entry in the win column. And through the efforts of a defense that found its footing after conceding 27 goals in their first two matches, ASU was able to do just that, as they captured their first victory of the season over the Aztecs (1-3) by a score of 16-6.
“We defined our style of play on both sides of the ball by playing Sun Devil lacrosse for 60-plus (minutes), however long it takes,” third-year ASU head coach Tim McCormack said postgame.
The literal and figurative storms of the midwest did not follow ASU back to the desert as after allowing six combined goals in the first quarter of their previous matchups, the Sun Devils played much more to McCormack’s expectation as his team conceded just two scores in the entire first half against San Diego State.
And even when senior attacker Deanna Balsama and the Aztecs found a way past the Sun Devil wall in the second half, they didn’t have many answers for freshman goalkeeper Katie Vahle, whose double digit saves anchored the dominant defensive unit.
“She’s a great, great presence in the cage,” McCormack said. “The confidence to be able to dominate like she did three games into her college career and the way she came out and battled really hard with the help of the great group in front of her, we’re very excited for her.”
Vahle, when asked about her performance, praised her younger teammates, getting their first crack at college lacrosse.
“I was a little nervous at first, in front of family and friends and everyone watching but it was a lot of fun and to be able to get (freshman goalie Flynn Murphy) out there was awesome for sure,” she said.
Murphy was one of a slew of new Sun Devils who made their impact on the game. Her first collegiate save came along with major playing time for some of the underclassmen. With the game all but over in the fourth quarter, McCormack reaped the benefits of some young guns getting time on the field as highly-touted freshman Anna Thornton sniped two shots into the back of the net in the final frame along with freshman attacker Bella Ingrao sending one by the goalkeeper in the third.
The freshmen contributions on offense originated from one of their leaders, right as the first ball was dropped. Senior midfielder Kaylon Buckner got the team in a groove early with her first two goals of the season both coming within the first two minutes of the opening draw.
“It gets you going, it’s great momentum that got the line going a bit and it gave us that extra added confidence to push forward,” McCormack said.
Buckner’s scoring got the Devils going early and often as they entered halftime holding an 11-2 advantage on the scoreboard, with a trio of grad students ripping the net throughout the match. Midfielder Taylor Pinzone zipped in three shots while attackers Emily Glagolev and Emily Murno collected two goals of their own respectively.
Stick control was also a critical piece to ASU’s overwhelming victory as they won 19 out of 26 draws.
While the Aztecs were able to handle possession and pose more fluid attacks in the second half, the hole that ASU dug them into was simply too deep for SDSU to climb out of as the Sun Devils cruised to the double-digit win.
With the victory, Arizona State grabbed its first win of the season while handing San Diego State its third loss in four games thus far in the season. The Sun Devil campaign ramps back up on March 11 when Pac-12 rival Oregon visits Tempe to start conference play.
