(Photo: Zina Garcia/WCSN)
TEMPE — In its final game of the regular season, Arizona State women’s lacrosse recognized its 12 seniors, writing a thank you message with the players’ jersey numbers on the sideline. Friends and family joined in on the celebrations, holding cut out images of their faces throughout the game.
While Saturday afternoon was a day to remember the past, it was also a day for ASU to make things right in the present.
“We knew it was going to be an emotional day for us,” ASU head coach Taryn VanThof said. “Obviously, 12 seniors is a lot and they’ve done a ton for this program. 10 of them had come through all four years…So, we knew it was going to be heightened emotions.”
The Maroon and Gold returned home to Sun Devil Soccer and Lacrosse Stadium after a three-game road trip with losses to No. 23 Colorado, No. 12 Denver and Oregon. Sitting sixth in the Pac-12 standings, the Sun Devils needed a win to guarantee its spot in next week’s conference tournament.
The same rang true for ASU’s opponent, UC Davis, who entered with the same conference record. The visitors had dropped three of their last four, most recently losing their senior day matchup 21-8 to No. 19 Stanford.
The Sun Devils (8-9, 3-4 Pac-12) sent their seniors off with a 21-11 win over the Aggies (9-7, 2-5 Pac-12), clinching the fourth seed in next week’s Pac-12 tournament.
ASU wasted no time pleasing the home crowd, bursting to a 3-0 lead. This caused UC Davis head coach Suzanne Isidor to burn her team’s first timeout of the half with 8:55 remaining in the first quarter. Despite conceding out of the stoppage, the Maroon and Gold held a commanding 10-2 lead at halftime.
The Aggies responded with a 5-2 run, as VanThof burned her first timeout with 4:54 left in the third quarter. But the hosts finished with a 9-4 run that started with a free-position goal from senior defender Gigi Gaspar.
VanThof gave opportunities to her bench in the fourth quarter as she played an all-senior lineup in the final moments. Additionally, junior attacker Maddie Riley and senior attacker Rosie Davis both scored their third goals of the season.
“The word before the game was family, and I think that spoke volumes in our success today,” VanThof said. “Not just our senior class, but the whole team got an opportunity to step on the field. Those last three minutes (where) you put that senior class in together and you get to see all 12 out on the field. It’s a pretty awesome feeling. It’s pretty surreal.”
The Sun Devils outshot the Aggies 39-28, and 31-18 in shots on target. UC Davis thrived on free-position shots, going 5-for-7, which helped cut into ASU’s lead in the third quarter. On the other side, the Maroon and Gold went 7-for-11.
It was a sloppy game for both teams, as they combined for 26 turnovers, with 21 in the first half. But the Sun Devils excelled on the defensive side of the ball and 50/50 chances. They won the draw control battle 23-12 and caused UC Davis to give up the ball seven times. The hosts also picked up 18 ground balls compared to the visitors’ 11.
Overall, it was a day where the Sun Devils’ defense powered the offense. This was the case when ASU made the score 8-1 to force UC Davis’s second timeout of the first half. After stealing the ball in their defensive one, the Sun Devils carried it into offensive territory. Senior attacker Mina Scott pitched the ball to sophomore attacker Lydia Oldknow who sent it into the net.
“We talked about buying into our man to man and making sure we are taking care of each other,” VanThof said. “They proved that man to man is a strength for them and they can play consistent in it time and time again. It was fun to see that change of pace from our defense.”
Scott led the Maroon and Gold with a career-high double hat trick and two assists. Three Sun Devil attackers, Oldknow, sophomore Teagan Ng and junior Anna Thornton notched a hat trick. Thornton also had three assists.
Junior midfielder Natalie Markman was the catalyst to UC Davis’s charge, scoring four goals in the third quarter. But fellow junior midfielder Ella Brislin was the only starter for the visitors to score multiple times, with two goals. Junior attacker Grace Gebhardt, who leads the Pac-12 in goals scored, only found the back of the net once.
After the post game festivities, where the seniors were honored on the field, the whole team gathered for a picture. Smiles were exchanged and tears were shed. Then everybody cheered when VanThof announced that they were going to the Pac-12 tournament.
The Sun Devils’ road to the conference crown starts on Wednesday, May 1 at 4:30 p.m. PDT at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. They will either seek revenge against Oregon or look for a second win against California. The winner of Wednesday’s game will play the tournament’s No. 1 seed, Stanford, on Thursday at 4 p.m.
“To go in with a win and have some momentum going in Pac-12s is a huge opportunity for us,” VanThof said. “Obviously, whoever we go up against, we’re gonna be in a great position because I feel like we’re peaking and where we need to be.”
