Feb. 26, 2008

TEMPE, Ariz. - The Arizona State women's soccer team competed in two spring matches Sunday as they defeated both Nebraska and Loyola Marymount, 2-1, at Sun Devil Soccer Stadium in Tempe.

The Sun Devils welcomed Nebraska, LMU and Arizona for a full day of soccer which kicked off at 9 a.m. with ASU taking on Nebraska for a 90 minute match. Arizona and LMU then faced off for a 75 minute match that saw LMU top the Wildcats, 1-0.

In the second half of the day, Nebraska defeated Arizona, 2-1, in 75 minutes and the Sun Devils held on to top LMU, 2-1 in 80 minutes.

Karin Volpe, ASU's leading scorer during the 2007 season, netted two for the Sun Devils Sunday, while Alissa Oldenkamp scored the other two for ASU.

The Sun Devils will compete Saturday, March 8 in the local Sereno Showcase against BYU at 7 p.m.

ASU head coach Kevin Boyd shares his thoughts on Sunday's matches.

On the weekend...
"The weekend went very well. We were fortunate enough to have four good teams competing who all brought different styles. We enjoyed having all of the teams coming out and participating."

On how the team performed over the weekend...
"What I was happy about was that we had the least amount of subs on the weekend. So, we had the least amount of players and played the most minutes of any team this weekend and came up with two wins; that's what I was happy about."

On playing two matches in one day...
"In the LMU game you could see in the second half where our team really got fatigued and it's natural. It wasn't a lack of fitness or anything like that; it's just normal fatigue that hit playing those many minutes at that intensity level. What I liked was the team fought their way through that and got another goal and held on to win. That was a good character moment for our squad."< br>

If anyone who stood out over the weekend...
"I would give a shout out to Jill Shoquist. I think she has really stepped up her game this spring and is doing very well. She has been given a chance and she has responded very well with it."

On the impact of the Spring Season...
"The main thing with spring games is that the intent, specifically for us, is individual player development. Obviously you still focus on what the team is doing and how they are playing, but you are really giving players plenty of time to play and evaluating them to bring them along and prepare them for the fall. A lot of players who did not get those minutes in the fall are getting them now and it's a great opportunity for them to take advantage of that and show that they are someone we can count on. So, that's the way we view these games."

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