The ASU women's soccer team begins a five-game home stand this weekend when it takes on San Diego State tonight and Creighton on Sunday at Sun Devil Soccer Stadium.
The Sun Devils (4-4-0) will try to rebound after two consecutive 1-0 losses to No. 1 Santa Clara and New Mexico.
Tonight's game will be a quick turnaround for the Sun Devils after playing on Tuesday night in Albuquerque, N.M., but coach Kevin Boyd said he does not expect that to negatively impact the team.
The Sun Devils did not practice Wednesday but were back to work Thursday to prepare for the Aztecs (3-3-2).
"This [weekend] is going to test us and what kind of team we really are," freshman forward Alexandra Elston said. "We lost on the road and now we come back and play two more good teams, so we're going to have to see how well we can play with little time in between."
The Sun Devils have also had to deal with the absence of Boyd, who was not with the team for much of the week due to his girlfriend giving birth to their daughter Tuesday.
Assistant coaches Nancy Augustyniak Goffi and Blair Quinn took control of the team early in the week, but Boyd was back at practice Thursday and will coach tonight.
"It [was] very good for both of [the assistant coaches] to step up because it allows them to get a feel of what the full day is like and being in charge," Boyd said. "It's also good for our team to be able to respect them in that light."
The Sun Devil offense has faltered as of late; it has been shut out the past two games despite a total of 27 shots over that span.
"We were getting our opportunities and we just couldn't put one away," Elston said. "It was just unlucky, next time we're going to finish one."
Overall this season, the Sun Devils have out-shot their opponents 115-53, but only have nine goals to show for it.
"That's really a bad percentage, and until someone decides to start putting it away, it is what it is," Boyd said.
Boyd said that he is not worried about the reduced preparation time for this weekend's games because San Diego State and Creighton are very similar to New Mexico.
Elston said controlling the ball on offense will be a key to getting a win against the Aztecs tonight.
"We just have to play the ball on the ground and keep possession," she said. "And definitely putting one in the back of the net would be helpful."
San Diego State is coming off a 2-1 overtime loss to UC Santa Barbara last Sunday.
The anchor of the Aztec team is freshman goalkeeper Aubree Southwick, who leads the Mountain West Conference with 51 saves and boasts a 0.69 goals against average.
Senior forward Jackie Ragudos leads the Aztecs in goals (3) and points (7).
Tonight's game will be the first time ASU and SDSU have played each other since 2004. The Sun Devils came away with a 3-0 victory in that game.
Reach the reporter at gina.mizell@asu.edu
