TEMPE – Arizona State women’s soccer coach Graham Winkworth used four words to describe the motto the team has rallied behind after a hot start to the season.
“Sweat more, smile more.”
His squad is off to a strong start as the Sun Devils are 8-1-2 through their first 11 games of the season. Despite suffering their first defeat of the season in their most recent game against UCF, the team has had positives to build upon for the remainder of the season.
ASU began its season on a 10-match unbeaten streak, marking its first double-digit unbeaten streak since Oct. 31, 1999 to Sept. 24, 2000, when ASU went 12-0-0.
Throughout the season, the team has been able to build chemistry, which Winkworth believes has been its biggest factor for finding success on the pitch.
“Their togetherness, the girls are (experiencing) wonderful chemistry,” Winkworth said. “They’re good teammates to one another, they care about one another and that goes so far into creating a strong team when you’ve got that sort of level of togetherness.”
Behind the team’s strong chemistry, Winkworth highlighted an identity that is hardworking and a squad that tries to play exciting soccer by creating goal-scoring chances.
“I would say we use four words. We say ‘sweat more, smile more.’ So, we want to work hard, so we want to have fun doing it,” he said.
The Sun Devils have definitely looked the part this season as they’re ranked third in the Big 12 in goals scored (conference and non-conference) with 24. Two of those goals came in a huge upset win on Sept. 18 when ASU defeated 10th-ranked BYU, 2-1, in the Big 12 Conference opener.
The win set the tone for the remainder of the season.
“I think that’s obviously a nice confidence boost,” said Grace Gillard, a senior captain who plays center back for the Sun Devils. “We played well too, so we were happy.”
Sophomore striker Sierra Bergen had a key assist in the team’s victory against BYU. She agreed with Gillard that the win was huge for the team’s belief going forward.
“I definitely think it was a confidence booster, but we know that there’s more games to come and we have to take that,” Bergen said. “We have to stay humble and take that with every game. I think it’s important that we just keep going game by game.”
The team’s mindset on game days hasn’t been a coincidence for the Sun Devils. They’ve taken measures off the field to build their foundation, which has led to their on-field success.
“Just the other day, I think a couple of us went over and had lunch together,” Bergen said. “That’s just the kind of team we are. … We’re always hanging out with each other. We don’t get sick of each other. I think it’s really important that we do these things off the field because it does translate to on the field as well.”
The Sun Devils continue to take each game one at a time and made sure to not celebrate the victory over ranked BYU for too long. After their victory, they were the 17th-ranked team in the nation, according to Top Drawer Soccer.
They fell out of the top 25 a week later after a tie against Oklahoma State and their first loss of the season to UCF.
Winkworth is making sure his team’s spirits remain positive going forward after their first loss and is prepared for the upcoming Big 12 games on the schedule.
“We think about this week, Cincinnati, and then after Thursday, we think about West Virginia,” he said. “So just keeping our feet grounded, not getting too high with all those wins, but not getting too defeated and upset with one defeat.”
The Sun Devils have three straight road games upcoming starting Thursday against Big 12 opponent Cincinnati (2-4-5).
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