Sept. 3, 2009
NORFOLK, Va. -- The ODU women's soccer team (2-1) is headed to Arizona for a pair of games at the Sun Devil Desert Classic held by Arizona State University. The Lady Monarchs will face ASU (2-1) on Friday night at 7:00 pm locally, 10:00 pm Eastern Standard Time (EST), and will face off against the Wildcats of the University of Arizona (0-2-1) on Sunday at 11:00 am locally, 2:00 pm EST.
The Sun Devil Desert Classic is a first annual tournament hosted by Arizona State, welcoming in ODU, Arizona and eighth ranked University of Virginia (2-1). The first game on Friday will feature Arizona against UVa at 4:30 pm locally. UVa will face Arizona State at 1:30 locally on Sunday.
The Lady Monarchs have opened the season 2-1 overall, with a loss to NC State and a pair of victories against George Washington University and High Point University. ODU was led by rookie Ashlee Coutu, named CAA Co-Rookie of the Week, with two gamewinning goals and an assist. Sophomore Victoria Johnson has assisted on all three Lady Monarch goals so far this season.
Rookie goalkeeping tandem Bri Alvarado and Laura Bush are both boasting a 1.00 goals against average and one win apiece. Alvarado also notched her first career shutout against GW.
About the Sun Devils:
ASU has also opened the season with a 2-1 start, scoring a 2-0 win against UC Irvine and a 3-2 double overtime victory against Tennessee before falling to Kansas, 1-0, after an own goal.
The Sun Devils are receiving votes in the national polls and have been led by junior forward Karen Volpe, named Pac-10 women's soccer player of the week. She scored the game-tying and game-winning goals against Tennessee at the Lady Vol Clsasic.
The team returns 9 starters and 13 letterwinners from an 8-8-4 team last season. The Sun Devils won the only match-up between the two schools, in 1998, by a score of 3-0. It is the only game against a Pac-10 opponent in ODU program history.
About the Wildcats:
Arizona has stumbled out of the gates, with an 0-2-1 record to start the season. After dropping a 2-1 decision to UC Irvine, the Cats tied Northern Arizona, 2-2. Last Sunday, they lost to San Diego, 4-1.
Junior midfielder Leila Amini leads the team with two goals and an assist so far this season. Fifth year senior goalkeeper Devon Wharf has played every minute between the pipes and has a 2.48 goals against average.
This will be the first matchup all-time between the two teams.
Stay tuned to odusports.com for updates of the Sun Devil Desert Classic throughout the weekend!