Ten Sun Devils Score in Lacrosse's Win over San Diego State

TEMPE, Ariz. - Sun Devil Lacrosse defeated San Diego State to open up their home slate Friday at Sun Devil Soccer/Lacrosse Stadium.

Arizona State took an early lead just 33 seconds into the game and never looked back, cruising to a 16-6 victory to move to 1-2 on the season. Ten different Sun Devils scored a goal, as the Maroon & Gold featured a balanced offensive attack. The defensive effort was equally as impressive, as the unit held San Diego State to only six goals, while forcing them into committing 20 turnovers. The draw control unit was extremely effective, giving the home team a 19-7 advantage in the key category.

Freshman goalkeeper Katie Vahle looked a lot like her predecessor, not only donning the #00, but also making acrobatic and athletic plays in a similar fashion to Berkeley Bonneau. Vahle played the first 52 minutes of the game and shut down the Aztecs' offense, allowing only four goals while making nine saves. She added four ground balls and took matters into her own hands on several clear attempts, hustling the length of the field to ensure the Sun Devils could start their offense.

Vahle had plenty of help defensively, led by starters Bella Gaspar, Mallory Martel, Sydney Payne, and Gigi Gaspar. The four combined to frustrate San Diego State, dictating the tempo and communicating at a high level. The four combined to collect 10 ground balls and cause five turnovers, providing a solid presence in front of a true freshman.

Offensively Arizona State was clicking on all cylinders, featuring a diverse and relentless attack. Emily Glagolev led the way with five points (two goals & three assists), while four other Sun Devils (Taylor Pinzone, Kaylon Buckner, Carley Adams, Katie Brodsky) registered at least three points. In total, 13 different players recorded at least a point in the double digit victory.

TURNING POINT
It was a dominant defensive stretch that allowed Arizona State to jump out to an insurmountable lead, as the unit took over midway through the first quarter. During a 17:41 stretch of the first half, the Aztecs did not score a goal, as ASU increased their lead to 7-1. After a goal broke the scoreless drought with 8:57 to go in the second quarter, the Sun Devils proceeded to not allow another goal for the remainder of the half, taking a 11-2 lead into halftime. 

NOTABLES

• For the eighth time in the 27 games under Coach McCormack, Sun Devil Lacrosse held an opponent to ten goals or less. In the 32 games prior to his arrival, ASU only did it seven times.
• The double digit victory is the eighth under Coach McCormack, with the program winning by 10 or more only three times prior to his arrival.
• Emily Glagolev finished with three assists.  the 20th time in her career she has accomplished that feat in a game.
  • She now has 117 career assists in 62 career games. 
• Taylor Pinzone continues to emerge since her transfer. She has a hat trick in two of her first three games as a Sun Devil. In her time at Northwestern, Pinzone had 3+ goals only twice in 50 games as a Wildcat.
• Arizona State has now defeated San Diego State three consecutive times (outscoring the Aztecs 59-27 in those games) and leads the overall series 4-2. 
• Anna Thornton scored the first two goals of her career, while Bella Ingrao also found the back of the net for the first time. A total of 36 Sun Devils entered the game.
• ASU finished with a 25-18 advantage in ground balls, with five different players collecting three or more.

QUOTABLES

"We had a lot of fun and we got better," Coach McCormack stated. "I think those are the things that we are trying to value every single day we get to play together and we were able to do that, so good efforts all around."

"It's always so fun playing at home. Especially in front of all of our families, it's truly a blessing," sophomore defender Bella Gaspar remarked. "It was really awesome especially to have my whole family in the stands because last year due to COVID and the border situation they weren't really able to come down so this was great. The energy was unmatched from start to finish and can't ask for much more than playing the game we love with our best friends."

"Unbelievably calm, great presence in the cage, confidence, to be able to do that three games into your college career is pretty impressive," Coach McCormack observed in regards to Katie Vahle's performance. "Very excited about the way she came out and battled and she'll be the first one to tell you she's got a great group in front of her and those guys battled really hard but, at the end of the day there were a lot of good opportunities she was able to steal and that's massive momentum. A couple that she saves, we get the transition up the field and get goals on that stuff is huge so, it was great to see her do that."

"Katie was unreal," Gaspar added. "It's pretty awesome to see her shine this early in the season and there's only more to come. Obviously Berk left some pretty big shoes to fill, but I think she's stepping into the role really well and her confidence is only going to go up. She's truly one of the best goalies I've ever seen play and it's really fun getting to hold it down with her.

"It was a super cool and exciting experience," freshman attacker Anna Thornton mentioned in reference to scoring her first goal. "Getting all of the hugs from my teammates and hearing my name on the loud speaker was amazing."

ON TEN DIFFERENT PLAYERS SCORING A GOAL
"It's huge. We talked about it a little the other day, experience, you can't teach experience. So, when you give people the opportunity to be on the field and chip it in and make a play or two here or there it all goes into their line and it creates a sense of comfort and experience that's un-coachable. Very excited, there was no questioning whether they could do it. We knew that, they knew that, it was about getting out and executing that and it's a great thing."

ON THE IMPORTANCE OF THIS WIN COMING OFF A ROAD TRIP

"It's great, every opportunity is its own unique opportunity and we are excited to put on the same jersey, play a game, get a tremendous amount of enjoyment out of that, and get better. It was a good experience for all those reasons and we're excited to have another day to do that tomorrow with our group at our practice."

ON SEEING THE FRESHMAN SCORE

"It's amazing.That's amazing, they put in so much time, everybody does, so when you get a chance to get people minutes, it's so deserving,it's incredibly deserving for every single person who gets a minute out there. It's exciting anytime you get to do that."

ON KAYLON BUCKNER'S TWO GOALS IN TWO MINUTES TO START THE GAME

"I didn't even realize that, that's pretty good. It gets you going, it's good momentum, and I'm sure she was excited about it. It got that line kind of going a bit but it just gives you that added confidence sometimes to continue on and push forward. It was good to see that"

FIRST QUARTER
Kaylon Buckner showed she was ready to play, scoring on the first two possessions of the game to spot the Sun Devils a quick 2-0 lead. After San Diego State responded with a goal, ASU would go on a 2-0 run to end the period, using a physical defense and getting excellent play out of their goalie. Emily Glagolev provided the first goal, while Taylor Pinzone followed up to put ASU on top 4-1 to end the first.

SECOND QUARTER
The Sun Devil run continued into the second, as ASU secured a 7-1 lead thanks to three more goals. Emily Munro, Lia Willis, and Maria Villanti were each successful in scoring, before a Deanna Balsama goal finally ended the run. Arizona State wasn't finished scoring, as they had four more goals in store for the Azrtecs over the final three minutes of the half. Taylor Pinzone opened the flood gates, followed closely behind by Carley Adams. Zoe Mazur recorded her first assist on the next goal, feeding Emily Glagolev in stride. Katie Brodsky made it 11-2 right before the half, giving ASU all the momentum heading into the break.

THIRD QUARTER
San Diego State opened the scoring in the second but Arizona State quickly found their footing in the third thanks to a goal from freshman midfielder Bella Ingrao, the first of her career. They were able to answer another Aztec goal with a pair of their own during a back-breaking 4-0 run. First it was Emily Munro making it 13-4, with Taylor Pinzone closing the period with a goal to invoke the running clock.

FOURTH QUARTER
Arizona State finished strong over the final 15 minutes, scoring the first two goals of the quarter. Both came courtesy of freshman attacker Anna Thornton, as she recorded the first two goals of her collegiate career. Sophomore goalkeeper Flynn Murphy relieved Vahle midway through the fourth quarter, proceeding to make a save on a free-position attempt. She closed out the 16-6 Sun Devil victory in front of a great crowd at Sun Devil Lacrosse/Soccer Stadium.

UP NEXT
The Sun Devils will not play next weekend, giving them ample time to prepare for the Pac-12 schedule. They open the conference slate on Friday, March 11 with a 4 PM MST matchup with Oregon, broadcasted via the ASU Live Stream. Arizona State will make their Pac-12 Network debut on Sunday, March 13 when Colorado comes to Tempe for a 11 AM MST contest. It will air on the Pac-12 Networks and on the Pac-12 Now App, with more information available here.

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