The ASU women's soccer team will begin its 2007 season tonight when it takes on Idaho State in the UNLV Classic in Las Vegas.
The team has been progressing in practice the past three weeks and is ready to finally take the field against another team.
"I think we have taken huge steps forward," senior forward Courtney Crane said.
"The first couple practices [were] tough because [coach] Kevin [Boyd] was bringing on some new ideas and some new stuff that a lot of us have never heard before, and now it's just becoming more comfortable."
Senior forward/ midfielder Alissa Oldenkamp said Tuesday's practice was the best of the season so far.
"The more we've been practicing, the better we've obviously gotten," she said.
"We've started to learn the system more and how [Boyd] wants us to play."
ISU comes into the game as the reigning Big Sky Conference regular season and tournament champions.
The Bengals also made the playoffs last season and head coach Allison Gibson was named the Big Sky Coach of the Year.
"That definitely shows that they're a strong team, but I think we're ready to take them," Crane said. "We've been practicing really hard. We're all super, super pumped."
ISU returns eight starters from last season, including senior forward Natalie Graham, senior midfielder Michelle Okumera, senior defender Jill Christofferson and senior goalkeeper Maren Eves. Each of these players earned All-Big Sky honors in 2006.
However, Oldenkamp said the only team she is concerned about is the one in maroon and gold and likes the Sun Devils' chances in the game.
"Obviously we go into every game thinking we can win," she said. "We want to just focus on what we've been working on, not so much the other team. If we play how we've been doing in the system that [Boyd] wants us to play in and work hard, then that will take care of itself."
Crane said that keys to a Sun Devil victory will be communication between the players, being tough and coming into the game with a positive outlook.
The game against the Bengals will also mark the first time the freshman class will step on a collegiate field.
"I'm really excited for it," freshman midfielder Alex Elston said. "I'm a little nervous but I'm really excited to get out there. We've been preparing so much for it and I'm just ready to play."
The match up with ISU will be the first time the two programs have faced each other on the soccer field. However, the Bengals are 0-4-0 all-time against Pac-10 opponents.
Following the game against Idaho State, the Sun Devils will have a day off before taking on host UNLV on Sunday at 1:30 p.m.
Like Idaho State, UNLV has also had recent success as it has won a Mountain West Conference championship each of the past three seasons. The Rebels won the regular season title in 2004 and the tournament championship in both 2005 and 2006.
UNLV returns 10 starters from a year ago, including defender Brie Kuhene, who earned All-MWC First Team honors and midfielder Erica Jensen and forward Armani Rice, who both made the All-MWC Second Team.
Boyd said that his staff has not scouted the Rebels yet to go along with the team's "one game at a time" philosophy.
While the Sun Devils will face some quality opponents in their first two games,
Crane is most interested to see how her own team performs.
"I think being that we do have this new team with a new coach, it [will be] really exciting to go out there and see what we can give and what we've got," she said.
Reach the reporter at: gina.mizell@asu.edu.
