Oct. 22, 2009

GameTracker (begins at 7 p.m. PT)

 

 

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The Arizona State women's soccer team (7-4-3, 0-3-1 Pac-10) will be seeking its first Pac-10 win of the season on Friday when it travels to Tucson, Ariz., to take on in-state rival Arizona. Game time is set for 7 p.m.

Last Week

Arizona State went 0-1-1 last week, falling to Washington State 2-1 on Friday and tying Washington 1-1 on Sunday. Freshman forward Bianca Doller  accounted for both of ASU's goals on the weekend while freshman goalkeeper Alyssa Gillmore recorded a combined 13 saves in the two games.  Against Washington State, a sudden turn of events would swing control of the game in Washington State's favor as the Cougars scored two goals on counter attacks in the span of just over four minutes in the first half. As the second half progressed the Sun Devils started to show more urgency on the offensive end with each passing minute. They would finally break through in the 76th minute when Doller took a pass from junior forward Karin Volpe and fired a shot over the goalkeeper's reach to cut Washington State's lead to 2-1. The Sun Devils would continue to keep the pressure on over the last 14 minutes of the game, however were unable to score the equalizer that would have forced the contest into overtime. On Sunday the Sun Devils got out in front early as Doller scored her second goal of the weekend to give ASU a 1-0 lead in the 20th minute. In the second half a role reversal of sorts occurred as the Huskies came out and played with a greater sense of urgency, forcing much of the action to take place on ASU's side of the field. Washington would tie the game in the 61st minute forcing the eventual tie. Doller's two shots led the Sun Devil attack, which was only able to produce two shots in the game's final 65 minutes. Sunday's encounter was a physical one as the two teams combined for 34 fouls (Washington 19, ASU 15).

Scouting Arizona:

The Wildcats (3-11-1, 0-4-0 Pac-10) enter this week's action on a six-game losing streak. They went 3-7-1 during the non-conference portion of their schedule. Offensively the Wildcats have been paced by sophomore forward Renae Cuellar, who has scored half of Arizona's 12 goals this season and leads the team with 12 points.

Series Notes

The Sun Devils have won 12 of their 14 all-time meetings against the Wildcats. The exceptions were a 1-1 tie in Tucson in 2003 and a 2-1 double overtime loss last season in Tempe. Carly Kallas scored the lone goal for ASU in last year's contest. In fact, Kallas has scored a goal against Arizona each of the three times she has faced them.

Working Overtime

Last week's 1-1 overtime tie versus Washington represented the sixth time the Sun Devils have been involved in an overtime contest this season. While the concept of going to overtime is nothing new to the Sun Devils (played in seven overtime games in 2008), having success in extra time is. Last season ASU was unable to break into the win column as it went 0-4-3 in seven overtime contests. This season however ASU has managed a better success rate as it is 2-1-3 in its six overtime games. In their first overtime game of the year at Tennessee, ASU ended its overtime winless streak when junior Karin Volpe scored the game winner in double overtime.

Harkin Anchors ASU's Defense

One of the biggest factors in ASU's success during Kevin Boyd's two-plus seasons as head coach has been the Sun Devils' ability to hold the opposition's attack in check. While goalkeepers Briana Silvestri and Alyssa Gillmore have risen to the challenge when opponents have gotten within scoring range, senior defender Liz Harkin has made a habit of preventing opposing players from getting clear shots on Silvestri and Gillmore.

"When you have a player like Liz Harkin on the back line your defense automatically becomes one of the strengths of your team," said ASU head coach Kevin Boyd. "She's one of the best if not the best defender in the country. She doesn't get beat and she has added more knowledge and more technique to what she does and she is much more vocal this year."

Last season Harkin earned first-team All-Pac-10 honors and following the season joined the U.S. U-20 Team which captured the gold at the U-20 World Cup in Chile. Now with international experience under her belt, Boyd feels that Harkin is poised for an outstanding senior year.

Thus far in 2009 Harkin has continued to distinguished herself as one of the nation's best. Earlier this season Harkin was named to both the Lady Vol Classic and Sun Devil Desert Classic All-Tournament Teams. She was named the Defensive MVP of the Sun Devil Dessert Classic after helping the Sun Devil shutout Old Dominion 1-0 (Sept. 4) and tie eighth-ranked Virginia 1-1 (Sept. 6).

Volpe Takes the Lead on Offense

While Liz Harkin has been ASU's anchor in the back, junior Karin Volpe has paced the Sun Devils' attack on the offensive end as she has led the Sun Devils in goals, points and shots each of the last two seasons and currently leads the team in game-winning goals (2) and shots (34) while she is currently tied for the team lead in goals (4) and points (12) and is tied for second on the team in assists (4). In early September Volpe was named the Pac-10's Player of the Week after being the driving force behind the Sun Devils' 3-2 come-from-behind, double-overtime win over the Tennessee Lady Vols in Knoxville. After scoring the tying goal with 13 seconds left in regulation, Volpe would give the Sun Devils the win after scoring again in the 107th minute. Against Northern Arizona (Sept. 27), she turned in one of the best single-game efforts in program history as she scored two goals and assisted on two others in ASU's 4-0 win. The six points in a single game are a career best for Volpe and represent the second-highest single-game point total in program annals. Volpe is currently in fourth place on ASU's all-time list in career game winning goals (8) and is eighth in both career goals (18) and career points (44)
 
Fab Frosh

One storyline head coach Kevin Boyd was excited about heading into 2009 was the potential of this year's freshman class. Five members of that class - forwards Bianca Doller, and Kiara Williams, defender Sierra Joseph, midfielder Taylor McCarter and goalkeeper Alyssa Gillmore - have started at least one game for ASU this year. A little more than 12 minutes into ASU's season opening win over UC Irvine (Aug. 21), Boyd's excitement was quickly validated as McCarter (assist) and Doller (goal) teamed up for ASU's first goal of the season. Doller came up big during her first Pac-10 home games as she scored both of ASU's two goals last weekend and moved herself in to a tie for third on the team in goals (3). In August, during her first road game ever as a Sun Devil, Dolller, who is currently third on the team in points (8), came up big in the second half of ASU's win over Tennessee as she assisted on both Karin Volpe's game-tying goal with 13 seconds left and her game winner in double overtime. Later, it was another freshman who would provide the Sun Devils with offensive heroics as Kiara Williams came off the bench to score both of ASU's goals (and the first two of her career) in ASU's 1-0 win over Old Dominion and 1-1 tie against Virginia. Williams, who made the first start of her career against San Diego State on Sept. 11, was named to the Sun Devil Classic All-Tournament Team and was recognized by CollegeSoccer360.com in being named one of its "Primetime Performers of the Week."  Against San Diego State (Sept. 11), freshman defender Sierra Joseph made her presence felt on the offensive end as her free kick set up the game-winning goal by Alexandra Elston in ASU's 2-1 overtime win. At Nebraska (Sept. 20), McCarter helped send the contest into overtime with the first goal of her career.

Another player who has consistently provided the Sun Devils with a spark on the offensive end has been forward Courtney Tinnin. Although she is in her second year in the program, Tinnin, who was the Gatorade Player of the Year for the state of New Mexico in 2008, still has four years of eligibility after being forced to miss last season because of a knee injury she suffered in the season's second game. Tinnin is currently first on the team in assists (5), second in shots (23) and forth in points (7). Against Northern Arizona (Sept. 27), Tinnin notched the first goal of her career in ASU's 4-0 win. Her team leading five assists ties her for seventh in assists and in assists per game (0.36) among Pac-10 players.

Another freshmen that is establishing herself is Alyssa Gillmore. Despite only having played in five games she is already tied for sixth in the Pac-10 for saves (33) which gives her an average of 6.60 saves per game.  The majority of her 33 saves came in ASU's 3-2 double overtime loss at UCLA on Oct. 11 in which she tied ASU's single-game school record with 14 saves. Now through four Pac-10 games she is near the top on the list in many goalie categories for Pac-10 play. She is first in saves (33), saves per game (8.25) and third in save percentage (.825).  Also the 14 saves she had against UCLA is the individual game high for saves for any Pac-10 player this year.

All She Does is Win Games

Last month junior midfielder Alexandra Elston helped carry the Sun Devils to victory as she notched both goals in ASU's 2-1 overtime win over San Diego State. In addition to tying her single-game career high for goals, Elston also tallied the fifth game-winning goal of her career, which moved her into a tie for eighth place on ASU's all-time list. For her effort against the Aztecs, Elston was named to the TopDrawerSoccer.com National Team of the Week for Women's Soccer. Elston is currently tied for the team lead in both points (12) and goals (4). She is also tied for second in assists (4) while her 21 shots are third on the team. Elston has had two assists in Pac-10 play which ties her for second, and she also has four points in Pac-10 play which ties her with teammate Bianca Doller for seventh in the Pac-10.

Head Coach Kevin Boyd

Was named the third coach in the history of the ASU women's soccer program on March 30, 2007... Prior to coming to Arizona State spent 10 seasons as the head coach at California where he complied 124-63-20 record and led the Golden Bears to the NCAA Tournament eight times... Last season the Sun Devils nearly qualified for the NCAA Tournament despite losing six players to season ending injuries. ASU's 8-8-4 record included a win against seventh-ranked and defending national champion USC, ASU's first win over a Top-10 squad since 2001. In 2008 the Sun Devils also defeated No. 20 UC Santa Barbara and recorded ties at seventh-ranked Texas and at No. 22 California... In 2007, Boyd's first season at ASU, the Sun Devils produced a double-digit win total (10-9-1) for the first time since 2003... On the academic side, the Sun Devils have earned 21 Pac-10 All-Academic citations in Boyd's two seasons, including six first-team members and one second-team member. ASU has also had three student-athletes earn Academic All-America honors. In 2007-08 the Sun Devils' 3.55 cumulative GPA was among the top 15 in the country according to the National Soccer Coaches Association of America... Under Boyd the, California produced 28 first or second-team All-Pac-10 Conference selections while also garnering 21 selections to the Academic All-Pac-10 first or second teams. Additionally, Boyd's teams carried a stellar overall GPA, leading all Cal teams during the 2003-04 season (3.34)... In his final season at California he led the Golden Bears to the third round, their deepest run in the tournament in nearly 20 years... Attended Tri-State University in Angola, Ind., where he was a four-year letter winner. An honor
able mention All-American in 1989, Boyd was a three-time team captain for the Trojans while earning three all-district selections, three all-area selections and three all-MICL selections as a sweeper. For his efforts, he was inducted into the Tri-State Hall of Fame.

Record at ASU: 25-21-8.
Career Record: 149-83-27

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