ALL ALONE: Junior defender Kari Shane takes a kick from the corner in last weeks 3-1 win over Baylor. The Sun Devils hit the road this weekend to take on Charlotte and South Carolina. (Aaron Lavinsky)

The ASU women’s soccer team looks to continue its perfect start to the season during a two-game road trip to the east coast this weekend.

The Sun Devils (2-0-0) face some stiff competition, meeting Charlotte (2-0-0) on Friday and No. 19 South Carolina (3-1-0) on Sunday, but the back-to-back games don’t seem to faze the team.

“We’ve been training really hard and everyone’s fit,” said redshirt senior midfielder Lindsey Johns. “I think we’ll be fine.”

Senior midfielder Alexandra Elston agreed.

“We’ve all done it before, so we’re just going to treat it like a normal weekend,” Elston said.

Although this is the Sun Devils’ first two-game road trip, they have already played away twice, once at Loyola-Marymount for an exhibition match, and again at Northern Arizona.

The key for ASU this weekend will be building upon its success against Baylor last weekend.

“We had some moments last game where we actually put the ball on the ground, played the ball a little bit and looked really good,” Elston said. “Hopefully we’ll play like that a little more.”

In particular, the ground passing game showed its potential with the three-goal first half against Baylor, with the ASU midfield and forwards working well together.

South Carolina represents ASU’s first game against a ranked opponent, and promises to be an exciting matchup.

The Gamecocks won the Southeastern Conference tournament last season, but fell in the third round of the NCAA tournament.

Sunday also marks the first time the Sun Devils have ever faced South Carolina.

“We’re matching up with what we expect to be a national caliber team,” coach Kevin Boyd said. “We’re playing a good, solid, experienced team.”

Returning for the Gamecocks this year is dangerous junior midfielder/forward Kayla Grimsley, who hit the back of the net 13 times last season, leading the team.

South Carolina was upset earlier this season by unranked Louisville, who beat them 1-0.

In all, South Carolina returns six starters from last season’s squad.

Charlotte is also expected to provide a tough test for the Sun Devils.

“I think they’ll put the ball on the ground more than the last two teams,” Elston said.

Despite finishing second in the Atlantic 10 Conference with a 16-3-2 record, Charlotte failed to make the NCAA tournament.

This year, the 49ers boast a very experienced roster, with 11 returning seniors, and also head into the game on Friday undefeated.

“We expect that they’ll keep the ball well,” Boyd said.

The Sun Devils last faced Charlotte in 2007. Senior forward Karin Volpe, then a freshman, netted the only goal in a 1-0 ASU win.

The toughness of both opponents won’t change the way ASU approaches the games, redshirt sophomore Sierra Cook said.

“We always just try to play our game, no matter who we’re playing,” Cook said. “And that’s a possession game.”

Another potential factor for this weekend’s matchups is the weather. Although the current forecast predicts only partly cloudy skies for the weekend, a weakening Hurricane Earl is nearing the east coast, and could affect the games if it makes landfall and creates nasty weather inland.

Reach the reporter at egrasser@asu.edu

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Categories: Soccer Sports

Tags: ASU Charlotte Soccer South Carolina