Sun Devils Next on the Slate for Utah Soccer on Friday

SALT LAKE CITY – The University of Utah women’s soccer team spent their last two fixtures shutting down Iowa State and Oklahoma State, the fifth time in the last six seasons the Utes have posted back-to-back clean sheets, and they’ll put that scoreless streak on the line on Friday night in Tempe, Ariz., when they’re set to take on the Arizona State Sun Devils at 8 p.m. at Sun Devil Soccer/Lacrosse Stadium.
 

 
Scouting Arizona State
ASU head coach Graham Winkworth is guiding a squad that seems well on its way to a third straight NCAA Tournament appearance and has garnered results in three of its last four contests. On Sunday, the Sun Devils topped Cincinnati 3-1 in a match that saw ASU outshoot their guests, 14-5. Winkworth’s crew also has as 2-0 victory over Houston to their credit in Big 12 competition. Kierra Blundell served as the hero in that triumph, tallying both of her team’s goals.
 
The Sun Devils currently rank third in the Big 12 in goals with 26 and their 26 assists have them in a tie for second in the league. The squad’s scoring charge has been led by Blundell and Enasia Colon, who own two of the top three spots on the conference’s points leaderboard. Blundell’s 20 points are largely due to her eight goals, which trail only Utah’s Taliana Kaufusi in the league rankings, and that total includes a Sept. 1 hat trick against Penn that garnered her a Big 12 Offensive Player of the Week award.
Colon has collected six goals to go with six assists, tied for the most in the conference and she’s claimed at least one point in seven of ASU’s 12 games, including seven in the last three. She played perhaps the most prominent role in the Sun Devils’ defeat of the Bearcats, logging a goal and two helpers.
 
Friday’s meeting will make a baker’s dozen between these two programs, with Utah owning a 5-3 advantage that includes four ties. The final chapter in the Pac-12 portion of this rivalry was Utah victory in 2023 over the then-No. 20 Sun Devils. Kelly Bullock and Kaufusi both booted in goals while the Utes limited ASU to a single…