The ASU women’s soccer team remembers this squad all too well.

The field was small and unfamiliar.

The shots were to the Sun Devils’ advantage, and the second half encompassed a season-ending injury for then-freshman Courtney Tinnin, which they were unable to recover from.

It was the second of a three-game road trip for a team soon to be plagued with injuries, and the Sun Devils’ game against Pepperdine left a lot to be questioned.

ASU head coach Kevin Boyd said last year’s 1-1 tie didn’t showcase the way the team performed during the game. That day, he said, ASU was the better team.

“By the time the game was over last year, that day, I thought we should have won the game,” Boyd said. “I thought we were better on that day.”

The Sun Devils outshot the Waves 10-2 in the first half of last year’s matchup and finally managed to put one away in the second half.

As this year’s team gears up to take on the Waves (5-2), it has a lot more confidence.

“I definitely think we have a lot more speed this year compared to last year,” midfielder Carly Kallas said. “Pepperdine is a very quick, fast team, and being able to keep up with their speed is going to help us this year. I think we’re going to be an even team. I think we’re going to bring as much to the table, and it’s going to be an even match.”

Still, the matchup is nothing to take lightly.

Pepperdine’s squad boasts similar characteristics — and a style all too familiar to the Sun Devils (5-1-2).

“The way their team functions is really similar to ours,” Boyd said. “So it’s going to be a lot like an inner-squad scrimmage in terms of the other team’s going to be doing the same thing we do — that’s what’s going to be difficult.”

The Waves are 1-2 away from home so far this season and are led by sophomore midfielder/forward Michelle Spacciapolli’s three goals.
ASU will then host NAU on Sunday.

Last year, the Sun Devils beat the Lumberjacks 4-2, a game in which junior forward Karin Volpe tied her single-game career high with two goals.

With the experience of last season’s matchups and the success of last weekend, the Sun Devils are hoping to build on their game and to continue to develop their style.

“Last weekend, we had two tough teams, and we played really well,” Kallas said. “We came out and were a lot more aggressive and fought, and we were gritty. With that, and if we settle it down a little bit, we are going to play really well this weekend.”

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