(Photo Courtesy of Sun Devil Athletics)
After a hard-fought non-conference win at home, Arizona State Lacrosse (4-2) prepares for the Mercer Bears (1-3) to visit the Inferno. ASU fought from whistle to whistle, really earning their win against the Saint Joseph Hawks on Sunday, the final score was Sun Devils 13 to Hawks 12. The Sun Devils got this win after just coming off of back-to-back losses against Denver and the No.22 University of Southern California the week prior.
The Sun Devils have been attempting to start this season out on a better note than previous. So far they have. Despite not pushing the 4-0 barrier that’s superseded them for consecutive seasons, the Sun Devils are in a better position than last season. To this point in 2024 they also had failed to go 4-0 as well, but the team last season went on to have a four-game losing streak. While this season, the Sun Devils kept it to only a two-game losing streak. The Sun Devils also had scored 80 goals in their first six games last season, but this season, by the end of their sixth game, which was against the Hawks, they are currently at 89 goals. These 89 Sun Devil goals, also more than double the amount the Bears scored this season, being at 42 thus far.
The ASU offense was choppy throughout their game on Saturday. There were periods for both sides where the goals were threading along without letting any in. While the Sun Devils got the win, the offense needs to be more consistent.
“Offensively, we want to make sure we’re capitalizing more than three goals at a time,” Head coach Taryn VanThof-Puls said. “That’s the change in momentum. That’s the swing and swing and shifts.”
This game against the Bears aligns as a prime opportunity for the Sun Devils to improve their offensive. The highest scorer from the Sun Devils matchup versus the Hawks was once again, junior attacker standout, Lydia Oldknow. Oldknow has been showing her ability to perform so far this season. She is currently the second highest scorer for the Sun Devils, and is currently in sixth place for goals per game in the Big 12, averaging exactly three goals per game.
The Bears are coming off a blowout win at home against the Kennesaw State Owls, scoring 20 goals to 4. Additionally, Bears junior attacker Sofia D’Angelo, is also coming off of contributing five goals to their win against the Owls, a career high.
This matchup between the Sun Devils and Bears will be the first one between these two teams. Both of the teams will be coming off wins at their home fields, the teams will be entering the face-off with the same goal in mind. Winning. While it was only the Bears’ first win of the season and the Sun Devils fourth, both teams had lost at least two games before their latest wins.
