(Photo: Ava Barhydt/WCSN)
TEMPE – Just eight minutes into the game, freshman Addison Baltodano sprinted up the left side of the box before rolling a cross to Cameron Valladares. The senior forward dove past a sprinting defender to send the ball and herself into the back of the net, creating a lead Arizona State would never relinquish.
The Sun Devils 8-0-1 (1-0 Big 12) won 2-1 over No. 10 BYU 5-2-1 (0-1 Big 12), earning their first ranked win since beating No. 11 USC in 2023.
ASU avenged last year’s 1-0 loss to the Cougars, a team it had not beaten since 2004, in front of a record-breaking crowd. The stands were so packed that some of the 2,207 fans had to stand along the fenceline. Senior defender Grace Gillard said their support was crucial to the upset.
“The crowd today was amazing,” Gillard said. “The stands were full, I think. We heard them the whole game, which made such a difference.”
Gillard led a defensive unit that only gave up four shots on goal, half of what BYU averaged coming into the game. Of those four shots, two were blocked and only one scored.
The Cougar’s lone goal came off the foot of sophomore defender Presley Freeman in the 85th minute. That showed that ASU was able to limit the impact of sophomore midfielder Lucy Kesler. ASU head coach Graham Winkworth knew how good Kesler was when he recruited her in high school.
“Lucy Kesler is a really good player,” Winkworth said. “We didn’t want her controlling the game.”
Beyond Kesler, Winkworth had respect for BYU’s whole team, but was always confident in his squad’s abilities.
“I’m looking at their roster, I’m looking at our roster,” Winkworth said. “They’re a phenomenal team, but I wouldn’t trade them.”
An especially dominant part of the team was the forwards. In addition to her assist to open the game, Baltodano scored the eventual game-winning goal early in the second half. She buried the ball in the bottom of the net, rolling momentum from last week’s Big 12 Freshman of the Week. Baltodano has only recently come into the starting lineup, but is meshing well with the culture of her teammates.
“We had a lot of confidence in ourselves,” Baltodano said. “We knew that we could just show what we can do, and it was a great opportunity.”
By offering a fresh start, new personnel helped them build the confidence to find a different result than last year in Utah. One of those newcomers was junior defender Lucy Fazackerley, who was determined for redemption despite not being on last year’s team.
“This is a completely new team,” Fazackerley said. “We’re not going to play last year. We’re not going to look like last year.”
Fresh faces are great, but the Sun Devils are glad to have star forward Kierra Blundell back. The sophomore subbed in for stretches in both the first and second halves. Winkworth wants to take it slow after Blundell missed the entire first stretch of the season.
“We don’t really know what she’s capable of yet, from a fitness standpoint,” Winkworth said. “But, she’s been working her socks off, and I’m just so delighted to see her out on the pitch again.”
With her return and a dominant win on the same night, the Sun Devils could be knocking at the door of the top 25 rankings. The players have certainly been aware of their capabilities; now they are hoping the rest of the county realizes too.
“There was definitely some frustration,” Fazackerley said. “But, we use that as fuel. We just showed them, consider us, rank us.”
Winkworth is not worried about numbers next to the team’s name. Instead focusing on handling business in the Big 12 and beyond.
“If we’re ranked, fantastic,” Winkworth said. “It would be a nice thing to post, etcetera, but ultimately those rankings don’t get you in the postseason at the end of the year, wins do.”
