The undefeated record, head coach Graham Winkworth's 250th career win, Pauline Nelles' incredible goalkeeping and the upset of No. 10 BYU: These ASU soccer headlines have caught everyone's attention the past few weeks. However, none would be possible without the Sun Devils' midfielders so far this season.
Several tweaks were made to ASU's roster during the offseason, including the midfield additions of seniors Tatum Thomason, a Washington transfer, and Peyton Marcisz, a UCLA transfer.
In her three seasons with the Huskies, Thomason totaled eight goals and three assists. Through ASU's nine games so far this season, she's already found five goals and three assists, and she's continued to be a dominant presence in the middle of the field.
Marcisz wasn't able to find the back of the net during her first two years as a Bruin, but she wasted no time scoring twice in her first five games as a Sun Devil. Compared to last season, the difference is clear with those two new additions to the midfield.
Arguably the most overlooked player on the roster, sophomore Ella Kettles rounds out ASU's starting midfield trio. Kettles has a motor that never runs out, and she seems to cover every blade of grass every time she laces up. Her contributions aren't always seen in the final box score, but they are clear — especially to her head coach.
"She's everywhere," Winkworth said. "She's like an annoying little gnat … but she's amazing, I love her to pieces. She was wearing a penny in practice yesterday, and I told her she needed to make it into a cape, because she runs around like Superwoman."
One of the main factors that has helped the Sun Devils piece together their season so far has been their possession time. Controlling the pace of the game has routinely given ASU the advantage, and it wouldn't happen without high-level play in the midfield.
"I think our midfield is the perfect combination of three totally different players," Thomason said. "Kettles is unbelievable at just running around intercepting balls like an absolute workhorse... and then (Marcisz) — she's got three players around her, and then all of a sudden she's gone."
As they climb the field, the Sun Devil midfielders have also excelled in setting up scoring opportunities. ASU has averaged nearly 16 shots a game compared to the almost 10.5-shot average they've allowed to their opponents. Opportunities don't always result in goals, though, and if it comes back the other way, the midfielders are already in position to recover.
"I think that our midfield has been great," senior forward Cameron Valladares said. "Graham describes it as resting defense, so we have the ability to go (one-on-one) so much because if we do happen to lose it, our midfielders are really good about being in the right areas to pick the ball up. That's nice for me as a forward, knowing that I can take people on as much as I want and my team's got my back to pick it up if something goes wrong."
After taking down No. 10 BYU, the Sun Devils continue conference play against Oklahoma State on Sept. 25 at the Sun Devil Soccer and Lacrosse Stadium. This game will be their sixth of a seven-game homestand that has seen nothing but success so far.
Edited by Alan Deutschendorf, Henry Smardo and Pippa Fung.
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Ethan Holtzinger is a sports reporter for The State Press who has previously worked for Cronkite News and the Arizona Interscholastic Association. He is in his 2nd semester with The State Press and 5th semester at ASU.
