The ASU women's soccer team returns home this weekend to play a pair of ranked Pac-10 teams when it takes on No. 21 California tonight and No. 5 Stanford on Sunday at Sun Devil Soccer Stadium.
First-year ASU coach Kevin Boyd will also be facing his former team for the first time since leaving the Golden Bears (8-5-0, 0-3-0 Pac-10) for the Sun Devils (9-6-0, 3-1-0 Pac-10) last March.
"I think it's going to be difficult for both [me and Cal]," Boyd said. "It's a little harder for me because I can see it rationally and I have an emotional tie both ways. The good thing is I know once this game is over, it's done. It's probably the last tie that needs to be severed."
Boyd was the head coach at Cal for 10 seasons, where he posted a 124-63-20 record.
Boyd said he does not feel his familiarity with his former players will give the Sun Devils a significant advantage in the game.
"Each coach is going to add their own style and personality," he said. "It will be interesting to see what spin [current Cal coach Neil McGuire has] put on that team and how it will be different from the way I had them playing."
Boyd said the decision to leave Berkeley was difficult because he had to say goodbye to the players he had recruited to play for him.
"The hard part was leaving [my players]," he said. "I would say that every coach hits a point when they're thinking about making a change and the first thing they run into is 'Oh I don't want to leave my team and I've had these players committed.' "
Boyd said he thinks the Cal players will come out with something to prove against their former coach but hopes they have positive memories of him.
"I would hope at the end of the day that I'm still the same guy that recruited them and they know I'm always going to support them," he said.
Senior midfielder Lara Kezer said the Sun Devils also have something to prove against the Bears.
"We want to win this game for [Boyd] also, not just for us," she said. "He has helped us become such a great team and we also want to give back to him by beating his old team."
Sophomore midfielder Carly Kallas said she wants to win the game against Cal for her coach.
"I know if we come out with a win he's just going to be jumping for joy," she said. "I wouldn't mind seeing him jump for joy."
Tonight's game will also be televised locally on Fox Sports Net Arizona.
"Anytime we get our sport on TV it's good," Boyd said. "We play a good brand of soccer, they play a good brand of soccer, so it will be entertaining to watch for all the fans and there's going to be a lot of skill on the field."
Cal is coming into Friday's game winless in conference play, but Boyd said that record may be misleading because the Bears have faced No. 5 Stanford, No. 1 UCLA and No. 3 USC in those losses.
"Those are the three top teams [in the Pac-10], and Cal had to play all three of them," he said. "They're 0-3, but who else isn't going to be 0-3?"
Boyd said he is confident in his team's ability to play well at home and that it is capable of coming out on top in both games this weekend despite being the underdog.
"I feel like we're due for an upset," he said. "I feel like we outplayed Texas early on and didn't get that. I feel like we outplayed Santa Clara for one half, and then they outplayed us the other half and came out ahead. I thought we outplayed San Diego the entire game and we didn't get that one. I like that we've been playing that well against top teams."
The Sun Devils split their first Pac-10 road trip last weekend by losing to Oregon 1-0 last Friday and coming back to beat Oregon State 2-1 in double overtime on Sunday.
The Sun Devils were shorthanded for part of Sunday's game against Oregon State because senior forward Courtney Crane, senior forward/midfielder Alissa Oldenkamp and freshman forward Karin Volpe got food poisoning and did not start.
All three players have been practicing this week and are expected to start tonight.
Reach the reporter at gina.mizell@asu.edu
