Sun Devil Lacrosse Sweeps Pac-12 Weekly Awards
SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. – Sun Devil Lacrosse has swept the Pac-12 Player of the Week awards, the conference announced on Monday.
Katie Vahle was selected as the Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Week for the third time this year, while Carley Adams earned Pac-12 Offensive Player of the Week honors for the third time in her career. Arizona State has now had 17 individuals receive the top weekly conference honor in Head Coach Tim McCormack's three seasons, after previously only winning an award three times in the two prior seasons. This is the fifth time the program has swept Pac-12 Player of the Week, all of which have come under Coach McCormack.
The program carries over the momentum from last season, where they were the most decorated team when it came to weekly honors. Of the possible 20 recipients of a Pac-12 Player of the Week award in 2021, ten were Sun Devils. In 2022, a Sun Devil has already earned the distinction four times. This comes in addition to the National Player of the Week honor given to Taylor Pinzone by Inside Lacrosse last week.
Carley Adams – Offensive Player of the Week
Attacker Carley Adams did something that no other Pac-12 player accomplished this weekend in leading her team to a 2-0 record. During the Bay Area sweep, Adams scored five goals on Friday and dished out five assists on Sunday, the only player in the conference with a five-goal and five-assist game this weekend. She showed off her ability to both score and facilitate, causing opposing defenses problems and making it impossible to gameplan for the Sun Devils.
On Friday in the program's first win over No. 22 Stanford, Adams was in the middle of everything, finishing with six points (five goals). She took over the game at several points, making a stingy Stanford defense pay for one-on-one coverage. Adams relished a completely different role on Sunday, becoming the main distributor in Arizona State's win over Cal. She dished out a career-best five assists and delivered another six point performance. She now has 10 games with five or more goals and 13 games with five or more points in her career. On the weekend, Adams finished with 12 points (six goals and six assists) in the program's first-ever sweep of Stanford and Cal.
"Carley Adams loves the game and it shows in her play," Coach McCormack remarked. "She has fun out there and takes advantage of every moment she has to get better. She's been an incredible leader for us and gives her teammates a ton of confidence. She has come up huge for us this season and we look forward to continuing to watch her lead and have fun on the field."
Katie Vahle – Defensive Player of the Week
Freshman goalkeeper Katie Vahle continues to play with a poise and maturity beyond her years, emerging as one of the top young goalkeepers in the nation. She went 2-0 on the weekend against the Bay Area programs, proving to be the best player of the field in both contests. Vahle made history by becoming the first Sun Devil goalkeeper to ever beat Stanford, doing so in impressive fashion. She played her best game at Arizona State, making a career-high 12 saves in the win over the No. 22-ranked Cardinal. It was her second consecutive win over a Top-25 team, as she continues to come up big when her team needs her the most. She was not fazed when facing a potent Cardinal attack, holding both Ali Baiocco (3.8 goals/game) and Annabel Frist (3.0 goals/game) to only one goal a piece.
Vahle followed up a brilliant performance on Friday with one equally as good on Sunday, seeing less action in the 18-10 win over Cal. She played into the fourth quarter and allowed only seven goals, finishing with six saves. She picked up her third straight win to move to 6-6 on the season. On the weekend, Vahle made 18 total saves in 106 minutes of playing time, finishing with save percentage of 50%.
"Katie was incredible this weekend," Coach McCormack added. "She came up huge for us when we needed it most. She is the backbone and has a ton of trust from her defenders. When things break down she has been there to have our back. She will be the first to tell you that she is surrounded by great support in the defensive unit."
PEER REVIEW
Senior defender Mallory Martel knows exactly what type of challenge it is to contain Pac-12 Offensive Player of the Week Carley Adams.
"Crit is so tough to defend," Martel observed. "She's very slippery and can change her levels quickly. It makes us a better unit by not biting for those handles and fakes. She's always ready to compete. Her drive helps us push ourselves to be the best defenders we can be."
Graduate transfer midfielder Taylor Pinzone has seen some great goalkeepers in her career and recognizes Katie Vahle's abilities.
"Katie is such a huge asset to our team," Pinzone mentioned. "She plays with such confidence and energy, and it translate to us on the field. She's a great player, and I love having her in cage."
SUN DEVILS TO WIN PAC-12 PLAYER OF THE WEEK (20)
Carley Adams (4/11/22) – Pac-12 Offensive Player of the Week
Katie Vahle (4/11/22) – Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Week
Katie Vahle (3/14/22) – Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Week
Katie Vahle (3/1/22) – Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Week
Kerri Clayton (4/26/21) – Pac-12 Offensive Player of the Week
Olivia Hood (4/19/21) – Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Week
Emily Glagolev (3/29/21) – Pac-12 Offensive Player of the Week
Kerri Clayton (3/23/21) – Pac-12 Offensive Player of the Week
Berkeley Bonneau (3/23/21) – Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Week
Kerri Clayton (3/15/21) – Pac-12 Offensive Player of the Week
Berkeley Bonneau (3/15/21) – Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Week
Carley Adams (3/8/21) – Pac-12 Offensive Player of the Week
Berkeley Bonneau (2/23/21) – Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Week
Carley Adams (2/23/21) – Pac-12 Offensive Player of the Week
Kerri Clayton (3/2/20) – Pac-12 Offensive Player of the Week
Berkeley Bonneau (3/2/20) – Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Week
Emily Glagolev (2/17/20) – Pac-12 Offensive Player of the Week
Emily Glagolev (4/22/19) – Pac-12 Offensive Player of the Week
Kerri Clayton (4/8/19) – Pac-12 Offensive Player of the Week
Kaylon Buckner (2/12/19) – Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Week
2022 PAC-12 LACROSSE PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
Offensive Player of the Week Defensive Player of the Week
Feb. 16 Ashley Humphrey, Stanford Kait Devir, USC
Feb. 22 Shelby Tilton, USC Kait Devir, USC
Mar. 1 Sadie Grozier, Colorado Katie Vahle, Arizona State
Mar. 8 Chloe Willard, Colorado Devon Bayer, Colorado
Mar. 14 Kelsey Huff, USC Katie Vahle, Arizona State
Mar. 22 Ashley Humphrey, Stanford Kara Rahaim, Stanford
Mar. 28 Sadie Grozier, Colorado Grace Donnelley, Colorado
Apr. 4 Ali Baiocco, Stanford Kara Rahaim, Stanford
Apr. 11 Carley Adams, Arizona State Katie Vahle, Arizona State
UP NEXT
Arizona State hits the road for the final time in the regular season, returning the trip to Oregon and Colorado. First up, the Sun Devils match up with the Oregon Ducks on Friday, Apr. 15 at 6 PM MST. The game will be broadcasted via the Oregon Live Stream with live stats available here. The second leg of the road trip sees the Maroon & Gold head to Boulder, looking for their first road win over Colorado on Sunday, Apr. 17 at 12 PM MST in showdown that will be featured on Pac-12 Network. More information on how to watch the game against the Buffaloes can be found here, with live stats also available.
HOW TO FOLLOW
For the latest updates, follow our Twitter and Instagram accounts (@SunDevilWLax). Like our Facebook page (www.facebook.com/sundevilwlax/) for content on the team throughout the season. Visit our website, TheSunDevils.com, for the latest updates and information on the program.