The true test of an athlete doesn’t come during an undefeated season.

It’s not about the score or the amount of wins and losses a team accumulates during the year.

The true test of an athlete comes with adversity.

It’s when the seasons don’t go as planned ­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­— when a team does not win as many games as it had hoped — that character shows.

And for the 2008 ASU women’s soccer team, it wasn’t the 8-8-4 (2-6-1 Pac-10) record or the six season-ending injuries that defined the squad.

“I always think character is a critical component,” third-year coach Kevin Boyd said. “The way I see it, there are three important components in every successful team: character, being a paper team … and talent.
Character is the biggest one.”

The drive and the resilience the Sun Devils had to have to bounce back from the loss of six players gave last year’s team the opportunity to compete for — and just miss — a spot in the playoffs.

“The difference between this year’s team and last year’s is that last year’s team, after six injuries, relied wholly on character,” Boyd said. “Their resilience was incredible to accomplish what they did with what they had.”

This year, the Sun Devils enter their 14th season of play, already able to boast a 1-0 record after Friday night’s 2-0 win over UC Irvine.

“It’s going to be a good year, because we have competition on the field within the squad which makes everyone step their game up,” senior midfielder Carly Kallas said. “The result is that we are going to be playing better.”

With the addition of his first full recruiting class since coming to ASU from California, Boyd is hoping to combine key returners with talented freshmen to give the Sun Devils the depth that last year’s injuries took away from them.

Their 28-player roster includes a total of 21 freshmen and sophomores, leaving most of the experience in the hands of seven upperclassmen.
“I think we are going to have to have the older people step up to balance out the younger team,” senior defender Liz Harkin said. “But I think we definitely have that in our core team from last year. We just need to build on what we have already developed.”

Among those back in 2009 are junior forward Karin Volpe, who led the team in both points (20) and goals (nine) last season and junior midfielder Jill Shoquist, who was first on the team in assists.

The defense will be anchored by senior goalkeeper Briana Silvestri, who holds the single-season school record for goals-against average, and senior defender Liz Harkin, whose efforts last year earned her a spot not only on the All-Pac-10 First Team, but also on the U.S. Women’s Olympic Soccer team.

This combination of returning talent, and the depth that the incoming freshmen have brought to the team suggests more success in the 2009 season.

“We’re excited because we definitely have the most talented group since I’ve been here,” Harkin said. “To see that talent coming in, I know it’s only going to get better year after year.

ASU will continue its season this weekend as it travels to Knoxville, Tenn., for the Lady Vol Classic. The Sun Devils will play Tennessee on Friday and Kansas on Sunday.

Reach the reporter at emiley.darling@asu.edu.