East Coast Road Trip for Lacrosse Features Top-15 Teams

TEMPE, Ariz. – Sun Devil Lacrosse continues their 2022 campaign full of challenging opponents, heading East to play Stony Brook and Rutgers.

Arizona State starts the weekend with a 3 PM MST match up on Friday, Apr. 1 against No. 5 Stony Brook. The game against the Seawolves will be broadcasted on ESPN+, with live stats also available. Two days later, Arizona State is back in action to take on No. 14 Rutgers at 9 AM MST on Sunday, Apr. 3. The showdown with the Scarlet Knights can be followed with live stats and broadcast information will be coming out soon.

LAST TIME OUT 
Sun Devil Lacrosse dropped the first of four consecutive games against Top-20 teams, falling to USC 17-10. Arizona State welcomed back defenders Mallory Martel and Gigi Gaspar from injury, keeping it close with the No. 18 Trojans. Three different Sun Devils scored two goals, with Emily Glagolev dishing out three assists. Katie Vahle made eight saves, including several on free-position attempts. A 4-1 fourth quarter allowed USC to create additional separation, with ASU unable to keep pace.

Arizona State hosted the national power Gators in one of the featured games of the weekend. Head Coach Tim McCormack has not been afraid to schedule tough, with the Sun Devils in the midst of a four-game stretch against Top-20 opponents. In the second game of that run, ASU fell to No. 11 Florida 21-10. Despite holding an advantage in the draw controls, the home side was never able to establish much momentum, leading to a rare double-digit loss.

At halftime of the game, the program honored an impactful group of Sun Devil Lacrosse alumni that made the trip for the organized alumni game. Berkeley Bonneau, Kerri Clayton, Kristina Coppinger, Kate Dougherty, Taylor Carson, Rachel Gregory, Graci Fulkerson, Hanna Schuler, Campbell Poe, Graci Fulkerson, Haley Gorke, and Caryn Takeuchi all returned to Sun Devil Soccer/Lacrosse Stadium to watch their alma mater. They were part of a crowd that represented a new season-high in attendance, as Tempe provided a premiere atmosphere to match the quality of play of the field.

The Maroon and Gold once again played short-handed on both ends, but refused to let that impact their mindset and intensity. Offensively, Carley Adams enjoyed a lucarative day, working hard to score four goals against a tough Florida defense. 

QUOTES OF THE WEEK
Head Coach Tim McCormack
"This is a great opportunity for us to go to the East Coast and test ourselves against two of the best teams in the nation. I am excited to see how we rise to the challenge and handle the turnaround on Sunday."

"It is great that Dor (Dorrien Van Dyke) will be back at Stony Brook. She was an incredible player there and I know she'll get to see a bunch of her friends and family. We are lucky to have her on our staff helping us accomplish our goals."

Sun Devil goalkeeper (2018-21) Berkeley Bonneau
On her initial impressions of current goalkeeper Katie Vahle
"Being a goalie is a weird position. You are getting balls thrown at you 60 miles per hour. I love watching her because her playing style is similar to what mine was. She is doing kick saves, dropping to the ground and stopping it with her knee, before eventually clearing the ball with some insane pass. She came in as a freshman to an established program, where as when I came in as a freshman, there was nobody. Other goalies have been here for a couple years and she came in and beat them out. To be doing what she is doing in a power five conference. I had to give her a fist bump after the game."

KNOW YOUR FOES
STONY BROOK
Arizona State will take on one of the nation's top programs for the first time when they match up with No. 5 Stony Brook on Friday at 3 PM MST. The Seawolves have played one of the nation's toughest schedules and are 7-2, defeating #10 Princeton, #11 Florida, and #16 Johns Hopkins so far this season. They are lead by Head Coach Joe Spallina, who has coached many legendary players during his time in charge. One of those standouts is returning on Friday night, as former All-American midfielder Dorrien Van Dyke (2013-17) makes the trip with Arizona State serving as an Assistant Coach.

This year's Stony Brook team presents many challenges, a reason why they are now the No. 5 team in the latest rankings. Ellie Masera leads the way offensively, scoring 32 goals and compiling 42 points. Kailyn Hart is second on the team with 24 goals and 34 points. Three other Seawolves have reached the 20 point mark, as they feature a well-balanced offensive attack. In the draw circle, they are lead by the efforts of Ellie Masera, who has a team-high 49 draw controls. Haley Dillon has caused a team-high 22 turnovers. In net, Stony Brook has played two different goalies a significant amount of minutes. Charlie Campbell has started seven of the nine games, earning four wins and collecting 41 saves. Kameron Halsall played the entire game to earn her third victory of the season in the win over Princeton this week, finishing with nine saves while allowing only eight goals. 

RUTGERS
Another red-hot opponent is on the schedule for Sunday, as Arizona State takes on No. 14 Rutgers on Sunday at 9 AM MST. The Scarlet Knights are 10-1 and most recently beat No. 9 Michigan on Thursday, their second-straight home victory over a ranked team. This also represents a reunion of sorts for Sun Devil Assistant Coach Nicole Graziano, who was an assistant coach at Rutgers from 2017-19. The lone Rutgers loss came to No. 4 Maryland. 

The Rutgers offense is lead by Taralyn Naslonski, who has 38 goals and 47 points. Cassidy Spilis is a true goal-scoring threat, with all 41 of her points coming on goals. Stephanie Kelly is the third Scarlet Knight to already have 40 points, scoring 16 goals and dishing out 28 assists. Defender Meghan Ball is one of the best at her position, earning 58 draw controls, causing 24 turnovers, and collecting 32 ground balls. Goalkeeper Sophia Cardello has started all 11 games and has nine of the team's 10 wins, making 78 saves at a 45-percent clip. 

CAREER MILESTONE WATCH

• Katie Brodsky is 3 goals shy of 50 goals
• Kaylon Buckner is 1 goals shy of 50 goals
• Mallory Martel is 10 ground balls shy of 50 ground balls
• Emily Glagolev is 10 points shy of 250 points
• Maria Villanti is 8 goals shy of 50 goals
• Maria Villanti is 4 points shy of 50 points
• Paige McGlothlin is 4 goals shy of 25 goals
• Lia Willis is 4 goals shy of 25 goals
• Lia Willis is 10 caused turnovers shy of 50 caused turnovers
• Maddy Hunter is 7 assists shy of 25 assists
• Maddy Hunter is 6 ground balls shy of 100 ground balls
• Maddy Hunter is 6 caused turnovers shy of 50 caused turnovers
• Olivia Hood is 1 ground ball shy of 25 ground balls
• Olivia Hood is 4 caused turnovers shy of 25 caused turnovers
• Kylie Kroeger is 8 goals shy of 50 goals
• Kylie Kroeger is 6 assists shy of 25 assists
• Kylie Kroeger is 9 draw controls shy of 100 draw controls
• Carley Adams is 3 points shy of 150 points
• Carley Adams is 3 ground balls shy of 4 ground balls
• Carley Adams is 4 draw controls shy of 25 draw controls
• Sydney Payne is 1 ground balls shy of 50 ground balls

RECENT MILESTONES ACHIEVED

• Emily Glagolev has 25 career caused turnovers
• Olivia Kroah has 25 career ground balls
• Paige McGlothlin has 25 career ground balls

PAC-12 CHAMPIONSHIP COMING TO TEMPE
The Sun Devils are coming off a season in which they nearly earned a NCAA tournament berth last year and will face a 2022 slate filled with opportunities to build their postseason resume. The schedule consists of 16 regular season games and the Pac-12 Lacrosse Tournament, hosted by Arizona State in Tempe. Of those 16 games, nine of them are against teams ranked in the Top-20 of at least one major preseason poll. The Sun Devils have arguably the toughest non-conference schedule in the nation, featuring matchups filled with connections to the ASU coaching staff.

Arizona State earned the chance to host the 2022 Pac-12 Lacrosse Championships, running May 4-7 in Tempe. Two first round matchups will take place on Wednesday, May 4 with the two semifinal showdowns following on Thursday, May 5. The Pac-12 Championship comes after an off day, hosted at Sun Devil Lacrosse/Soccer Stadium on Saturday, May 7. 

HOW TO FOLLOW
Arizona State starts the weekend with a 3 PM MST match up on Friday, Apr. 1 against No. 5 Stony Brook. The game against the Seawolves will be broadcasted on ESPN+, with live stats also available. Two days later, Arizona State is back in action to take on No. 14 Rutgers at 9 AM MST on Sunday, Apr. 3. The showdown with the Scarlet Knights can be followed with live stats and broadcast information will be coming out soon. For in-game updates, follow our Twitter and Instagram accounts (@SunDevilWLax). Like our Facebook page (www.facebook.com/sundevilwlax/) for content throughout the season. Visit our website, TheSunDevils.com, for the latest updates and information on the program.