Lacrosse Overpowers Cal with Balanced Offense
BERKELEY, Calif. - Sun Devil Lacrosse defeated California on the road, 21-11, to earn their first Pac-12 Conference win of the season.
Behind the strength of a 14-2 run, Arizona State overwhelmed the Golden Bears defense with a variety of offensive threats. Berkeley Bonneau and the Sun Devil defense allowed only one Cal goal in a 26-minute stretch, helping Coach McCormack's squad establish a lead they would never relinquish.
By the end of the afternoon, 11 different Sun Devils accounted for the 21 goals, with the opposition unable to contain the multitude of options. Kerri Clayton led the way with a vintage performance, recording seven points (four goals and three assists) while also causing havoc in the midfield with her pursuit. Emily Glagolev joined Clayton in scoring four goals, as she continues her history of success in Berkeley. Katie Brodsky operated the offense to perfection, dishing out four assists while also adding a goal of her own.
The unselfishness and talent of the Sun Devils' attacking unit was on full display, as 12 of the 21 goals were assisted. Arizona State controlled the midfield, finishing a perfect 20-for-20 on clear attempts while limiting Cal to just 13-of-17. The pressure defense applied by the Maroon & Gold forced Cal to commit 16 turnovers. Goalkeeper Berkeley Bonneau came up big when her team needed her, making several timely stops during a seven-save performance.
TURNING POINT
California came out of the gates strong, jumping out to a 5-2 lead just nine minutes into the game. Despite having played a physical contest with No. 19 Stanford on the road less than 48 hours ago, the Sun Devils were up to the comeback challenge. Arizona State would go on a 6-0 run to take the lead and they never looked back, scoring 14 of the next 16 goals. It was a complete dominant effort by both sides of the ball, as the defense limited the Golden Bears' chances on goal and created transition opportunities. The offense used a combination of skill and creativity to create huge problems for the Cal defense.
For the third time this season, ASU reached the 20 goal mark, eventually forcing a running clock because of the double-digit deficit. The Sun Devils outscored the hosts 12-5 in an impressive second half effort, securing their first road win of the campaign.
NOTABLES
- Arizona State has now scored 20+ goals five times in the 13 games of the Coach McCormack era, after accomplishing the feat just once in 36 games in the previous two seasons.
- Kerri Clayton registered seven points, her eight performance of 7+ points. She now has four or more goals in 14 career games.
- For just the second time in her career, Emily Glagolev eclipsed four goals in a game, recording her third hat trick of the season.
- Tess Keiser notched her first-career multi-goal effort.
- With her first half goal, Carley Adams reached the 20+ goal mark on the season in only five games.
- Katie Brodsky finished with a career-high four assists, giving her 14 points in only five games this season, She had 16 points in 11 career games over the past two season.
- Goalkeeper Lindsey Spies saw her first action of the season, ending the game in net and recording a save.
- The Pac-12 Conference win represents the fifth in program history, three of which have come over the Golden Bears, as ASU closes the gap in the all-time series to 4-3. California Memorial Stadium becomes the first Pac-12 road venue that the Sun Devils have won twice in.
- Arizona State forced a running clock after increasing the lead to double-digits, the second time they had accomplished that feat in a conference game (last W 18-10 - at Oregon, 2019).
QUOTABLES
"We were happy with our effort after a quick turn around from Friday night," Coach McCormack remarked. "We competed hard for 60 minutes. It was great to have contributions from a mix of players on the offensive side of the ball, we shared the ball well and played our game. Defensively we came together after going down early. We were able to buckle down regroup and play solid team defense."
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