NCAA Women

Soccer Opens Big 12 Championship on Wednesday with Jayhawks

Soccer Opens Big 12 Championship on Wednesday with Jayhawks


TEMPE – Sun Devil Soccer opens play at the 2024 Sprouts Farmers Market Big 12 Soccer Championship on Wednesday with a first round game against Kansas. The 11th-seeded Sun Devils and sixth-seeded Jayhawks will close the first day of play at CPKC Stadium at the new time of 3:15 p.m. AZT.

Arizona State ended its regular season with an 8-7-3 overall record after dropping five of its final six games. The Sun Devils went 3-7-1 in Big 12 play to tie for 10th in the final table by averaging 0.91 points per game. ASU went 6-4-2 at home and 2-3-1 on the road during the season.

The Sun Devils begin the postseason scoring 1.72 goals per game, which ranks them tied for 92nd in the NCAA. They have scored multiple goals in a game eight times. ASU attempts 13.44 shots per outing, and they put 44.6 percent of those chances on goal.

Kierra Blundell leads the team with eight goals and 22 points. Enasia Colon has seven goals and a team-best seven assists for 21 points. Cameron Valladares has also scored seven goals.

Pauline Nelles has her GAA at 1.39 while posting eight wins and six shutouts in goal for the Sun Devils. She stops 73.7 percent of shots on goal by the opposition.

Arizona State closed the regular season with a 1-0 loss at home to Arizona last Friday. It was the fourth time ASU had been shut out this season.

Watch

Every game of the Sprouts Farmers Market Big 12 Soccer Championship will be broadcast live on ESPN+, with Chuckie Kempf and Sarah Gonzalez calling the action.

Series Notes

ASU has a 1-2-1 record against the Jayhawks, including a 2-1 loss in Tempe on Oct. 20. ASU led that game  1-0 on an Olivia Coleman goal in the fifth minute, but Kansas scored the final two goals to earn the victory.

About Kansas

Kansas went 9-5-4 during the regular season and finished sixth in the Big 12 with a 6-4-1 record and 1.73 points per game.

Jillian Gregorski leads the Jayhawks with eight goals, while Lexi Watts has added seven. Saige Wimes has five goals. Sophie Dawe leads in goal with a 0.944 GAA and a .686 save percentage.

Program History

Wednesday’s game will be the first conference tournament game in program history for the Sun Devils. During the teams time in the Pac-12, the conference never held a postseason tournament.

Accolades

The Big 12 named Kierra Blundell the conference Freshman of the Year on Tuesday. She was also named to…

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