Lacrosse Welcomes Fresno State to Tempe

Worth the Wait: Lacrosse Cruises Past San Diego State | Sun Devil Lacrosse Season Preview | Adams, Bonneau Sweep Pac-12 Player of the Week Awards

TEMPE, Ariz. – Sun Devil Lacrosse finishes up their two-game home stand to start the season by welcoming Fresno State to Sun Devil Soccer/Lacrosse Stadium on Saturday, February 27 at 1 pm MST. 
 
Arizona State is coming off an impressive 23-10 victory over San Diego State in the season opener. Coach McCormack's team rode the strength of a suffocating defensive effort in the second half, while 14 different Sun Devils recorded a point in a well-balanced offensive explosion. Thanks to their outstanding contributions, Carley Adams (Offensive) and Berkeley Bonneau (Defensive) swept Pac-12 Player of the Week honors.
 
"Extremely pleased with the performance of the team," Coach McCormack commented after the game. "We executed exactly what we had emphasized during the week leading up to the game. It feels good to get that first win out of the way, but now we are re-focused on our next opponent."
 
The Maroon & Gold return to action on Sunday at 1 pm MST when the Fresno State Bulldogs come to town. This will be the second consecutive year that the two sides will have matched up, with the Sun Devils leading the series 1-0.
 
Arizona State put together a dominant performance against Fresno State last season, defeating the Bulldogs 20-5. 12 different Sun Devils entered the scoring column, led by Carley Adams' five-goal performance. Emily Glagolev (1 goal and 6 assists) and Kerri Clayton (3 goals & 4 assists) each posted seven points, while Berkeley Bonneau allowed only five goals and made nine saves. 
 
Fresno State comes into the game having already played three times, all on the road. They opened their season with a loss to UC Davis, bouncing back with a win over Kent State. Most recently, they dropped a matchup with Robert Morris on Tuesday.
 
Former Fresno State attacker Kara Concheck was named interim head coach on Jan. 8, 2020 and was promoted to head coach on Nov. 1, 2020. In her first season as interim head coach, Concheck led the program to eight individual, program and MPSF broken records. 
 
This season, the Bulldogs' offense is paced by Logann Eldredge and Megan Walaitis, who each have 12 points (8 goals and 4 assists). Sydney Skalstad returns as the leading goal scorer from each of the past two seasons, currently with nine goals through three games. Goalkeeper Courtney Walburger will get the call in the cage, having started all three games for Fresno State this season. 
 
"Fresno State has a high-powered offense with plenty of scoring options," Coach McCormack observed. "This will be a great test for our defense, which really held hit its stride in the second half of the last game."

LAST TIME OUT
 
Showing no signs of rust after a long break, Arizona State jumped out to a 12-8 halftime lead and never looked back, suffocating the Aztecs' offense in an impressive second half defensive effort on their way to a 23-10 victory. Carley Adams led the offense, tying a program-record with eight goals. Berkeley Bonneau looked in midseason form in the cage, finishing with 15 saves, several of the highlight-reel variety.
 
TURNING POINT
At the 20-minute mark of the first half, San Diego State had a 6-2 advantage in draw controls. From that point on, the Sun Devils would take possession of 24 of the next 27 draws, a big reason why they were able to pull away from San Diego State. The 26 draw controls as a team were a program record, shattering the previous mark of 22 set last year against Detroit. 
 
Coach McCormack's halftime speech worked, as his squad was ready to finish strong and extend their 12-8 lead. Kaylon Buckner set the tone with a goal less than two minutes in the half and a relentless Sun Devil ride would take over from there. Arizona State prevented San Diego State from generating any offense throughout the second half, holding them scoreless for the first 12 minutes. The Aztecs could only produce two goals and six shot attempts over the final 30 minutes due to an outstanding defensive effort by the Maroon & Gold. 
 
*A reminder that all Sun Devil Athletics home events are closed to the public this year due to Pac-12 Conference COVID-19 policy. 
 
HOW TO FOLLOW
Sun Devil Lacrosse's season opener against San Diego State will broadcasted live streamed via the Pac-12 digital network at the following link. Live stats will be provided and can be found here.

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