TEMPE– In front of a record crowd of over 2,200, Arizona State soccer used strong play from its wingers to take down a top 10 ranked team for the first time since 2021.
ASU took an undefeated 7-0-1 record into its first Big 12 clash on Thursday night against No. 10 BYU. The Cougars were not only ASU’s first in-conference opponent, but also the Maroon and Gold’s first ranked opponent of 2025.
Before the match even kicked off, fans packed the stands. A notable amount of BYU away support accompanied the regular Maroon and Gold faithful. It created the feeling of a split house in Tempe.
As the countdown to kickoff continued, fan turnout was high. So high that after the stands filled up, supporters were moved to a spillover area behind one of the goals. The fenced-off area wrapped around the entire byline, packing up the sidelines of Sun Devil Soccer Stadium.
The noise from the student section sat as the background to the entire game. Drums, cowbells, and noisemakers accompanied the chants and singing from students in the crowd.
With a record turnout in the books, head coach Graham Winkworth was overjoyed with the fanbase.
“When you’re bursting at the seams and having to have standing room only, that’s the sort of atmosphere we love,” said Winkworth, who improved his team’s 2025 record to 8-0-1 on Thursday. “So anybody that came tonight, please come back.”
Notable faces in the Sun Devil athletic universe attended the match, including volleyball head coach JJ Van Niel, football players Kanyon Floyd and Jesus Gomez, and athletic director Graham Rossini.
As late-arriving fans entered and rain began to drizzle on the desert, the Maroon and Gold kicked off against the Cougars at Sun Devil Soccer Stadium.
In the opening few minutes, ASU’s midfield dominated play. However, the talent on the wing told the story.
Eight minutes into the game, winger assisted winger. ASU freshman defender/midfielder/forward Addison Baltodano passed it to senior forward Cameron Valladares, who put it home to give the Sun Devils an early lead.
While the Maroon and Gold defense took care of business for the rest of the first half, the majority of attacks focused around the wider players. The theme continued into the second half, where Baltodano found herself on the scorer’s sheet again. This time scoring a goal assisted by sophomore midfielder/forward Sierra Bergen.
An 85th minute BYU goal brought excitement to the back end of the match, leading to a tense final five minutes.
Despite the intensity of the ending, ASU held strong defensively to bring home a 2-1 victory, its first against a top 10 opponent since 2021.
With two goals from wingers, the theme of ASU focusing on attacks from the wide areas of the pitch only continues on from the non-conference slate of games.
Before Thursday, wingers Baltodano and Valladares totaled a combined 12 goal contributions, culminating in last Friday’s game against UTEP where both picked up a goal and an assist.
With the star presence on the wing, Winkworth is grateful for the talent on his roster.
“We look so dangerous going forward with our wingers,” said Winkworth. “Then we’ve got the likes of (freshman midfielder/forwards) Tano Uzezi-Itesa and Adrielle (Mibe) also coming in and are very dangerous. It’s a good problem to have.”
Addison Baltodano earned Big 12 Freshman of the Week honors with her performance against UTEP last week. After recording the same stat line the week after, Baltodano gives credit to those around her for her easy acclimation to college soccer.
“My teammates are so supportive,” said Baltodano, who has six goal contributions as a freshman. “The coaches are really supportive and the momentum from the games before just helped today.”
With the players and fans screaming every word of “Sweet Caroline” to cap off the historic win, senior defender and team captain Grace Gillard reflected on the turnout from supporters.
“When you can hear them screaming, when you can hear the drums banging, it makes such a difference,” said Gillard, who leads ASU in minutes played in 2025. “When we make a good play, you can hear them and you want to keep going.”
As the Sun Devils look ahead to the second game of conference play, a matchup on Thursday at home against Oklahoma State, junior defender Lucy Fazackerly has one message for fans.
“What more do you want,” said Fazackerly, who played all 90 minutes against BYU. “You have to be behind us all the way throughout the season.”
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