Winning Streak to Three Behind Hat Trick from Blundell
Sun Devils use fourth hat trick by a freshman to stay unbeaten
Photo by: Sun Devil Athletics
See the full match recap with Box score, team stats and match leaders.
Tempe – Kierra Blundell scored three times as Sun Devil Soccer defeated Penn 3-0 on Sunday afternoon at Sun Devil Soccer Stadium.
Blundell notched the 14th hat trick in program history and the first since Nicole Douglas in 2022. She is also the fourth Arizona State freshman to tally a hat trick, joining Patrice Feulner (2000), Cali Farquharson (2012), and Aly Moon (2014).
"Mixed feelings really from today's game," Sun Devil head coach Graham Winkworth said. "Firstly, I am delighted for KB. A lovely hat trick that was beautifully completed by a wonderful piece of individual class. You won't see too many goals better than that this season. I was very pleased with the first half. I felt the team worked hard in the press and were able to score two goals off set pieces, which has been an issue this season and so that delighted me."
An ASU (4-0-2) corner in the 24th minute led to the day's first goal. Blundell headed her initial shot off a defender and the crossbar before the ball pinballed through a scrum to Blundell's right foot for a shot through traffic and into the goal.
The lead extended to 2-0 in the 27th minute as Blundell converted a penalty kick. The freshman earned the penalty when she took a ball from Enasia Colon, used her first touch to get around the defender, and forced the foul in the penalty area.
Penn (0-3-1) did a better job of containing the Sun Devil offense early in the second half, but Blundell came through again in the 69th minute. Taking a pass from Lauren Kirberg, Blundell tapped her first touch to the left, spun toward the ball, brought it back to her right, and lifted a shot into the upper corner of the goal from the top of the penalty area.
Winkworth added, "The second half was very disappointing for me. Top teams, when leading, are able to control the game with composed, quality possession. They can kill teams off with this. I did not feel we were good enough in this department during the second half, and it looked lazy in both possession and with our press. We must do much better to reach the standards we set for the team. Saying that, after a mini tactical tweak, we were able to grind out the result and ultimately end the contest with that moment of individual magic."
ASU finished the contest with 17 total shots and seven shots on goal. They held the Quakers to seven shots and had a 9-2 edge in corner kicks.
Pauline Nelles was forced to make five saves, including a chance in the 87th minute on an open shot from the Penn forward she kicked aside to preserve her fourth clean sheet of the season.
Blundell and Cameron Valladares had four shots apiece to lead the Sun Devils. Addison Haws and Keri Matthews added two each.
With the three goals, Blundell became the fifth ASU player to score multiple goals in a game this season. That is the most for any season in program history.
The Sun Devils will play just once next week when they close the non-conference season by hosting Utah Tech on Sept. 8 at 1 p.m. AZT.
Final score: 3-0 win
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