(Photo: Patricia Vicente/WCSN)
Sun Devil Soccer Stadium saw its first soccer game in nearly two years, and it was like the layoff never happened, as the 942 crew led chants, Sparky energized the crowd and senior forward Nicole Douglas scored goals.
ASU’s third all-time leading goal scorer opened her account for the season with two goals in the Sun Devil’s (1-0) 6-1 victory over the Central Arkansas Bears (1-1). Also involved in the buildup play, Douglas grabbed a couple of assists to help keep the game out of reach.
Going into a competitive PAC-12 league, the Sun Devils will lean on Douglas’ ability to score and make plays for others.
“[Douglas] has scored a lot of goals in the last couple of years and it’s important for her confidence,” head coach Graham Winkworth said.
Despite a one-sided score line, the things were a little choppy at the beginning for Arizona State. Passes were intercepted and first touches were not sharp enough. Eventually, the Bears took advantage and jumped out to an early lead.
Central Arkansas struck first in the sixth minute when freshman midfielder Kelly Van Gundy picked off a back pass and assisted junior forward Emma Hawkins for the opening goal of the game.
The Sun Devils weren’t bothered as senior forward Olivia Nguyen found the back corner for an equalizer in under a minute after the Bears’ goal.
“I told the girls ‘I’m gonna make mistakes tonight, you’re gonna make mistakes tonight and I don’t care’ we get better by making mistakes,” Winkworth said. “After about 15 minutes we settled down. We got a goal and then we started to control the game much more comfortably.”
Scoring six goals in a game demonstrated the team’s variety of options to get on the scoresheet. Seniors Eva Van Deursen and Cori Sullivan both added goals to their personal tallies. The two were set up by Douglas and gave the Central Arkansas keeper no chance by picking out the corners of the goal with their shots.
Another strong performance came from graduate transfer Jayda Hylton-Pelaia. The defender played big minutes in her debut, shutting down Central Arkansas’ attacks and adding a goal on her memorable debut for the maroon and gold.
“It was a good confidence booster and good first game for the team,” Hylton-Pelaia said. “We’re still getting used to each other so it’s good to knock six goals in.”
Douglas and the rest of the Sun Devils have big goals for the upcoming season. After having a taste of the NCAA tournament last year, they want to come back for more.
“It’s a great feeling last year to be in that room and to hear our team get called was an amazing feeling.” Douglas said. “Definitely again we want to reach that and go further because we know we have the capability.”
There’s no better way to start the season than with a dominant win in front of a lively home crowd. Arizona State has another game at home against a hardworking and gritty Southeastern Louisiana team on Aug. 22.
