Sun Devils aim to repeat a hot start culture

(Photo courtesy of Sun Devil Athletics)

The Arizona State Sun Devil Lacrosse team (2-0) has started its season off strong, with two wins in non-conference play against the Niagara Purple Eagles (15-9) and the Pittsburgh Panthers (14-11). On Saturday Sun Devil lacrosse has its home opener against the Detroit Mercy Titans at Sun Devil Soccer/Lacrosse Stadium at noon. Last season, the Sun Devils had a major win against the Titans, with a whopping end score of 17-3.

Starting off the season strong, the Sun Devils have a 2-0 record as they’ve started the season with back-to-back road games on the East Coast. The Sun Devils are looking to extend their record to 3-0 against the Titans (0-1) who have had a slower start, losing the first game of their season against San Diego State University with a measly 5 goals to San Diego’s 17 goals.

The strong start of the season for the Sun Devils mimics the start they had last season, as they look to make it to 3-0 in their first three games of the season. However, in the 2024 season, things went downhill as the Sun Devils sprinted through their first three games until they matched up against Stony Brook and lost 20-9, that loss was the start of the Sun Devils’ four-game losing streak. The longest losing streak they had last season until they met Liberty, where they finally won with a final score of 12-5.

In the season’s first two games, Sun Devil juniors Teagen Ng and Lydia Oldknow have stood out as the team’s top-scoring players. Ng has collected 11 goals and Oldknow has pocketed 6 goals of her own within the first two matchups of their inaugural season in the Big 12 conference. While the majority of the other players who have scored are only at 1 or 2 goals thus far.

This is the first year the Big 12 conference has included women’s lacrosse, with a Big 12 lacrosse tournament at the end of the season in Boulder, Colorado where the top four teams in the conference will compete. The Sun Devils had spent their first seven seasons as a team in the Pac-12 conference before the transition. While lacrosse is just joining the Big 12, they will only include women’s lacrosse teams. Now, other Big 12 schools like Arizona State and the University of Cincinnati have their own official D1 club teams for men’s lacrosse. Club teams are oftentimes more community-based and inclusive, with more flexibility than the varsity teams you typically see on TV.

While the Big 12 has not said anything about adding lacrosse as a men’s sport, they are only including women’s lacrosse for a select few schools. Those are the Arizona State Sun Devils, the Cincinnati Bearcats, the Colorado Buffaloes, the Florida Gators, the San Diego State Aztecs, and the UC Davis Mustangs for their inaugural 2025 spring season.

The Sun Devils will meet two former Pac-12 competitors later in the season when they take on the University Southern California Trojans and the Colorado Buffaloes.