Photo: Patricia Vicente/WCSN
The Arizona State women’s soccer team finished at the bottom of the table last year with a record of 0-9-2 in conference play. This was the first time ASU didn’t win a game in the Pac-12 since joining the then-Pac-10 in 1997. Despite the disappointing season, there is hope thanks to a few international players who plan to bring a winning culture back to the Sun Devils.
One of the biggest areas ASU struggled in last season was putting the ball in the back of the net. In 11 conference games, the team only managed to score seven goals. However, with the international signing of Vildan Kardesler, this could change.
Kardesler is from Steinfurt, Germany and is a natural goal-scorer. She started her career playing youth soccer in Germany amongst boys, which is common practice in Europe. It was recommended to her at a young age to play with them.
“Experiencing the speed and physicality the boys play with allowed me to bring the same fight and mentality to women’s soccer,” Kardesler said.
Kardesler started her professional career as a member of the U15, U16, U17, U19 and U20 German National Teams. She was the captain of the U17 squad during her time with the club.
“It was a great responsibility but also made me really nervous because I was the role model for the team,” she said.
At 17 years old, Kardesler joined her first all women’s professional team in the Bundesliga 2: SV Meppen. The experience was a new one.
“The dynamic and standard of playing with only women was different,” she said. “Being 17, I was playing with a lot older women and it was my first time in professional soccer, so it was almost intimidating.”
After her time with both squads, a German agency contacted her about the opportunity to play soccer in America while studying, which she gladly accepted.
Originally, Kardesler played at the University of Pittsburgh. As a redshirt-sophomore in 2019, she managed to net five goals and three assists in 33 games, including the only goal scored on No. 3 ranked UNC and the game-winning goal against NC State last October.
It was a welcomed campaign after Kardesler missed her sophomore season in 2018 with a torn ACL sustained while training with the German National team before the 2018 Women’s World Cup.
Kardesler has since transferred to ASU for her junior season.
“There were multiple factors that brought me to ASU,” Kardesler said. “The major one was that head coach Graham Winkworth had tried to recruit me while I was in Germany and again when I chose to go to Pittsburgh. I also liked the idea of a new start with a new team that has amazing energy while also valuing soccer and myself highly. The team dynamic when I met the girls was really good and getting out of the cold weather made the decision an easy one.”
Goals may not be the only thing Kardesler brings to the Sun Devils. Her experience will be needed as well to help the women’s team. Her reaction when she learned about ASU’s failure to win a conference game last season was simple: “I hate losing.”
If there is a season (ASU’s season has been postponed till 2021 by the Pac-12), Kardesler hopes to improve on her three goals and one assist from last year with the Panthers, take things one game at a time and look back at the season satisfied.
After her time with ASU, Kardesler hopes to play professionally again. Even though she isn’t sure what the future holds, Kardesler is open to anything.
“I want to go back to Europe to play professionally,” she said. “If I can’t then I would like to play in the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL).”
Goals aren’t the only thing ASU had its eyes on during the offseason. They also beefed up the defense with Lucy Johnson from Nottingham, England. Johnson is still in England and will be joining the Sun Devils in January.
Johnson started playing soccer when she was seven years old with a local boys team. At the age of 11, Johnson moved to a girls team through trials (tryouts). She would then work her way up to the U17 English National Team. At 18 years old, Johnson became a professional soccer player, signing with the Leicester City W.F.C. (Women’s Football Club). With Leicester City, she made 12 appearances with one goal and an assist.
In October of 2019, Johnson visited ASU and left impressed.
“It was really good,” she said. “I got to see all the facilities and meet all the girls. They were a good group of girls, and then I watched a game and training session. I thought the quality was really good and a good standard of soccer. I was really impressed because I didn’t think the facilitates were going to be as good as they were. That was a key thing as well. I felt like the coaches wanted the best for everyone.”
Johnson, just like Kardesler, brings a lot of professional and international experience to the table. She hopes to help the team pick up more points during the season, and is hoping to bring her competitive spirit, which usually translates onto the field with wins.
“I am a very competitive person and I don’t like losing,” she said. “I want to win and add competitiveness to finish higher.”
Even though Johnson hasn’t been truly immersed in the Sun Devils’ team culture, she already knows what the feeling is like.
“Collegiate soccer is more intense,” she said. “You play on Thursday and Sunday and travel to God knows where. It’s more like a professional atmosphere. Having two games a week with training every day with classes in the afternoon – it’s more like a full-time thing rather than part-time football (soccer).”
After college, Johnson hopes to play professional soccer again. Her backup resides in her major: Criminology and Criminal Justice. She hopes to use this degree to join the police force in the UK and become a policewoman.
The Sun Devils are coming off a season in which they didn’t win a conference game. It was the first time ever that had occurred. Now, they have to prepare for a season nobody was expecting. The ASU women’s soccer team will turn to Kardesler and Johnson to improve on last season’s results, and Johnson is hopeful they will.
“I just want to win,” she said.
