May 16, 2006
TEMPE, Ariz. - The Arizona State University soccer program concluded its spring season recently as the Sun Devils won three matches against collegiate women's programs in the region while only having the services of a small group of returning student-athletes. The team, along with its incoming recruits, will now take a break before returning to campus in August for training and the start of the program's 11th varsity campaign.
"We had a very successful spring," Head Coach Ray Leone said. "We lost seven seniors that were a large part of this program and I was happy to see what our returning players were able to do in terms of stepping up and filling the holes created by graduation. These three matches provided some good experience for our players and set us up nicely for the upcoming season."
The Sun Devils opened the spring on March 5 as they handed visiting Grand Canyon a 2-0 decision. The Antelopes, located in Phoenix, went 12-6-0 last year. In late April, ASU traveled north to Flagstaff where it played a pair of teams, opening with a 3-0 defeat of Northern Arizona on April 22 before taking a 2-1 decision over New Mexico on April 23. The Lumberjacks went 10-11-0 last year and placed second in the Big Sky Conference tournament while the Lobos went 8-7-4 in 2005 and tied NCAA national runner-up UCLA during the spring.