(Photo: Nicholas Badders/WCSN)
The Arizona State Sun Devil Women’s Lacrosse team will open its third season in program history on the road against the UC Davis Aggies this Saturday.
New head coach Tim McCormack and the Sun Devils will start the season on a four-game road trip. McCormack will be heading the program after serving as an assistant coach at Northwestern, a dominant program that he helped lead to the Final Four last year. In his six years in Evanston, McCormack excelled at recruiting, ushering in top-five classes in each of the past two years. He also launched an analytics team that innovated and allowed coaches and players to evaluate performance. Northwestern was known for its offensive playstyle and efficiency off of the draw, a system that McCormack hopes to bring to Tempe.
Last season the Sun Devils ended with a 6-12 overall record, going 2-8 in PAC-12 play, with a loss to California at the PAC-12 tournament in Eugene, Oregon. The team will have a core group of established players returning to the field this season.
Headlining the roster will be senior goalie Berkeley Bonneau, who had a dominant 2019 season where she posted 194 saves, the fifth-best in the NCAA and second in the PAC-12. On the offensive side of the ball, redshirt-senior Kerri Clayton and junior Emily Glagolev will be the core duo in McCormack’s offense. Clayton has led the team in goals in each of the previous two seasons, with 44 in 2018 and 33 in 2019. Glagolev led the PAC-12 with 33 assists last season and was crucial in the Devils’ ability to quickly move the ball and distribute goals.
A new wave of youth will bring eight new freshmen to the team this season as well as two transfers. Of these fresh faces, the Sun Devils are seeing their first Arizona native in the program in Gabby Abbadessa, who transferred from Stony Brook. Abbadessa will be returning to the valley after playing for Desert Vista High School in Ahwatukee.
UC Davis is coming off a 9-8 season, which included a notable win over Oregon. The Aggies excel on the draw and will be returning two attackers who the team can rely on as consistent playmakers. Senior Amanda Outcalt is their top offensive outlet, who put up 70 points last season including 33 goals. She will be pressuring the Sun Devils alongside senior Sorana Larson, who also hit the 30-goal mark in 2019.
The first draw is set to take place on February 8 at 2 p.m. at UC Davis Health Stadium. The game can be streamed through the UC Davis Lacrosse Facebook page.
