23 of the 32 rostered players for ASU’s soccer team are underclassmen. A pretty remarkable fact considering the team's 6-2-1 start.
A significant portion of that group has already played an impactful role for the Sun Devils. More specifically, the sophomore class has had a few different players stand out.
Forward Nicole Douglas has been arguably their best offensive player. Her most impressive performance of the season came Aug. 26, a 7-1 victory over Central Arkansas when she finished the match with a hat trick.
Douglas’ front-line partner, sophomore forward Marleen Schimmer, has also excelled in the first nine matches. She has scored three goals of her own, tied with fellow sophomore midfielder Eva Van Deursen and freshman forward Dai Williams for second on the team.
Van Deursen and Schimmer have also been key distributors for ASU, combining for 10 assists thus far.
“We’ve got a great front line,” said ASU head coach Graham Winkworth. “I’m really happy for them that they keep scoring goals, but they have got to keep doing it.”
With such a young roster, Winkworth has had no choice but to lean on underclassmen in high-leverage situations.
In ASU's most recent match against California State University, Northridge, Winkworth entrusted Douglas to take a crucial penalty kick while trailing 1-0 in the 75th minute. Douglas calmly buried it for her team-leading eighth goal on the season, helping the Sun Devils stave off what would have been a disappointing loss.
Following the match, Douglas spoke about her nerves before taking the kick.
"You've got so much pressure on yourself, especially being down 1-0," Douglas said. "I was super nervous to take that penalty, because it meant so much to me and the team ... I'm just happy that I put it in the back of the net."
Despite a youthful roster, Winkworth is confident his players will continue to answer the call.
“We don’t want to use age as an excuse, we’re young, but that means certain players will have more opportunity,” Winkworth said. “You’re 18, 19, 20 or 21, they are all young, I think they just need to step into the game and do your job.”
One of the leaders on the team, redshirt senior midfielder Kylie Miniefield, said she wants the team’s younger players to have a different mentality than previous iterations of the team.
“Something I am trying to instill is making sure they understand how important every single game is,” Miniefield said. “Something that hurt us last year was (losing) one or two games that we didn’t do well in.”
Playing down to their competition has plagued the Sun Devils in the past. Last year, the Sun Devils lost an early season home match to the University of New Hampshire. This game has been cited several times by Winkworth and his players as a low point that they don’t want to revert to.
Miniefield said that regardless of the opponent, ASU needs to bring the same mindset and energy to each game.
“Treating every single game like it’s your last game or the game that is going to determine whether you get in or not,” she said.
In Miniefield’s five years at ASU, she has yet to play in an NCAA tournament game. In her final season, she wants that to change.
“I think when you first start out it’s like, 'I have three or four more years of this, so it’s ok if we don’t do that well,’” Miniefield said. “Then you end up in my position as a fifth year, and you look back at when you were younger, and you’re like, ‘man I get it,’ so I’m trying to help them get it sooner rather than later.”
2014 was the last time ASU soccer made the NCAA Tournament. With such a young roster in 2019, it seems the Sun Devils are well-positioned to make a push for that bid this year.
Reach the reporter at ltochter@asu.edu and follow @Leo_Toch on Twitter.
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