ASU soccer hosts SDSU, Creighton this week

TEMPE, Ariz. - The Arizona State University soccer team hosts San Diego State Friday, Sept. 28 at 7 p.m. PT at Sun Devil Soccer Stadium. It will be the fifth meeting between the schools. The Sun Devils round out the weekend at home as they host Creighton Sunday at noon.

Multimedia
All home Arizona State matches will have live statistical updates available on the official web site home of the Sun Devils, thesundevils.com. Fans can go to the soccer team page, click on the schedule link and then click on the Gametracker link for the match they wish to view.

Quick Recap
The Sun Devils hosted No. 1 Santa Clara Friday, and despite a great effort by ASU, the Broncos came out on top with a 1-0 victory. ASU traveled to Albuquerque, N.M., Tuesday to face the New Mexico Lobos. The Sun Devils created several scoring opportunities as they fired 22 shots, but were unable to find the back of the net as they were shut out 1-0.

Pink-Out
This Friday marks the annual Arizona State University soccer Pink-out game to spread breast cancer awareness, celebrate the brave survivors of the disease and gains in treatment, and reflect upon several years of progress worldwide in the search for a safe and effective cure for breast cancer. Fans wearing pink colored clothing will receive $2 admission to the game when the Sun Devils host the San Diego State Aztecs on Friday night at 7:00pm. Additionally, post-game autographs will also be available at the South end of the stadium bleachers.

Getting Defensive
Through their first eight games, the Sun Devils have only allowed six goals, which is tied for second among Pac-10 teams. Additionally, ASU has recorded three shutouts on the year. Last season, the Sun Devils posted seven shutouts, second most in school history.

Sivestri Shines
Sophomore GK Briana Silvestri earned her first career start as a Sun Devil in the season opener versus Idaho State. So far, she has collected 18 saves and recorded three shutouts on the season. The three shutouts ranks her third in the confernece in number of shutouts. Further, her goals against average (.71) is tied for third in the Pac-10.

Scoring by Committee
Of the nine ASU goals scored so far this season, seven were by different players. The first weekend of action saw both junior Carla Scanniello and freshman Karin Volpe score their first career goals. On the road trip to SMU and TCU, five others netted goals, including sophomore Carly Kallas who put in two at SMU.

National Polls
While the Sun Devils remain unranked in the national polls, they have are currently ranked No. 13 in the Soccer Buzz West Region.

Crane Climbs Charts
With her goal against SMU on Sept. 14, senior Courtney Crane is currently tied for eighth place on ASU's all-time career goals scored list with 12 goals. She is also three points away from moving into ninth place in ASU's all-time career points category; she currently has 31.

Making Their Debut
Through the first eight matches of the 2007 season, 21 of the 26 players on the roster have seen action on the pitch. Five of the 21 were true freshmen; Alexandra Elston, Erica Long and Karin Volpe all recorded their first collegiate starts. Freshmen Jessie Richardson and Jill Shoquist have also seen time on the pitch this season.

Strong Slate
As always, the Sun Devils will once again play a solid schedule of opponents, including a Final Four participant from one year ago in UCLA. Arizona State also has matches slated against six foes ranked in the Soccer Buzz Preseason Top 25, including No. 2 UCLA, No. 6 Stanford, No. 9 Texas, No. 14 USC, No. 15 Santa Clara and No. 19 Oregon. Three of the six matches will be on the road, all of which are Pac-10 contests.

Welcoming Coach Boyd
Boyd was named as head coach of the Arizona State University women's soccer program on March 30, 2007. The third head coach in the 11-year history of the Sun Devil program, Boyd brings a successful track record and years of collegiate coaching experience to Tempe following a 10-year stint as the head coach of Pac-10 rival California where he collected a 124-63-20 record and eight appearances in the NCAA tournament.

Pre-Pac
The coaches of the Pac-10 Conference conducted a vote prior to the season and the Sun Devils were selected to finish seventh in the league.

One Last Time
Five of the 26 Sun Devils on the roster for the 2007 season are entering their senior campaigns, led by forward Courtney Crane. Also on the offense for the Sun Devils are seniors Lara Kezer and Alissa Oldenkamp, both of whom will be competing in their final seasons for ASU. The defense will be led by two seniors, Kyleyn Felts and Lauren Niblett.

Green as Grass
On the opposite end of the spectrum, the Sun Devils will have nine true freshmen and 10 sophomores in 2007. Leading the way will be sophomores Liz Harkin and Carly Kallas, as well as, true freshmen Alexandra Elston and Karin Volpe.

Bench Help
Along with the nine incoming freshmen, the Sun Devils welcome new assistant coach Blair Quinn. Quinn, a former professional soccer player, also coached at the Kansas and Loyola Marymount prior to coming to ASU.

Scholars
In recent years, the members of the Arizona State University soccer program have been the walking definition of a 'student-athlete' as the Sun Devils have held the top team grade-point average (GPA) of any varsity team on campus. Following the 2006 season, six Sun Devils earned academic honors. Senior Kim Bingham was joined by Kyleyn Felts in earning Pac-10 First Team All-Academic honors. Alissa Oldenkamp was named to the second team, while Lara Kezer, Lauren Niblett and Kylla Sjoman were honorable mention selections. Bingham and Felts were also named to the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District VII First Team.

Looking At: San Diego State
The Sun Devils and Aztecs will be meeting for the fifth time in the head-to-head series in 2007. ASU is 1-2-1 against SDSU all-time. Following their match with the Sun Devils, the Aztecs will make the trip down south to Tucson, Ariz., to face the Arizona Wildcats.

Looking At: Creighton
Sunday will mark the second meeting between Arizona State and Creighton. The schools first met 10 seasons ago on September 26, 1997 in Tempe. The Sun Devils shutout the Bluejays 5-0 in that contest.

Conference Breakdown
Arizona State will face opponents from two different conferences this weekend; the Mountain West Conference (San Diego State) and the Missouri Valley Confernece (Creighton). The Sun Devils are 14-13-1 against Mountain West foes and 2-0-0 against members of the Missouri Valley Conference.

Up Next
The Sun Devils will remain in Tempe for a match Sunday, Oct. 7 as they host San Diego (5-1-2) in their only contest of the week.