Redshirt senior midfielder Courtney Tinnin (7) takes a shot as freshman midfielder Tommi Goodman (5) looks on during the Sun Devils’ 5-4 double overtime win over USC on Sept. 28. (Photo by Kyle Newman)A week before the ASU football team will “black out” its game against Oregon, the ASU women’s soccer team will “pink out” its match versus No. 14 California Friday afternoon to raise awareness for breast cancer.
The “pink out” game is especially meaningful for redshirt senior midfielder Courtney Tinnin, who lost her mother to breast cancer in 2009 after a seven-year battle.
Coach Kevin Boyd knows how much the match will mean to Tinnin and the entire team.
“How it’s affected Courtney and her life has affected all of us,” Boyd said. “I think all of us has either known someone or has been around someone who has fought this battle either successfully or not.
“Coaching a women’s sport: it’s something near and dear to our hearts and something we will do anything for.”
The Sun Devils (6-7-1, 2-3-0 Pac-12) are hoping to have a better “pink out” result than last year, when they lost 3-1 to No. 1 Stanford.
Cal (11-3-0, 4-1-0 Pac-12) provides no easy test for the Devils, as the Golden Bears are 6-0 on the road so far this season and boast the Pac-12 Offensive Player of the Week, freshman forward Ifeoma Onumonu.
Onumonu leads the Golden Bears with eight goals on the season, and Boyd is impressed with their front line players.
“Cal has some good pace up top,” Boyd said. “They have some athletic players in the midfield and have good experience.”
Cal, which holds an 8-4-3 edge in the all-time series against ASU, is riding a five-game winning streak.
Boyd isn’t intimidated by the Golden Bears’ recent success.
“Cal is a good team,” Boyd said. “We know we are in for a battle. It should be a pretty well-matched game, and it will just come down to who wants it more.”
Boyd is confident junior forward Devin Marshall will return from injury and help boost the Sun Devils’ front line.
Marshall played sparingly in Sunday’s 2-0 loss at Washington, but is expected to start and play significant minutes.
“She (Marshall) is looking better,” Boyd said. “It looks like she will play.”
Even with the return of Marshall — the team’s leading scorer — Boyd said the team has maintained consistency in practice throughout the week leading up to the “pink out” match.
“We’re not trying to change a lot,” Boyd said. “We are only trying to refine a couple of things to make us better.”
Reach the reporter at dsshapi1@asu.edu
