The career path that Alexandra Elston hopes to one day find herself on is all about communication.
Nearing a degree in speech and hearing, the senior on the ASU women's soccer team has devoted her studies to learning how to guide and teach others.
Now, in her final season on the pitch in Tempe, Elston's coach is hoping to see lessons learned in the classroom can be used on the field.
Last season, as the Sun Devils made their first appearance in the NCAA Tournament since 2003, Elston led the team in points (20), scoring seven goals with six assists. She scored a pair of goals in the team's regular season finale against Oregon that helped assure ASU a postseason berth.
While the forward will be heavily relied upon for scoring once again this season, which kicks off with an exhibition at Loyola Marymount on Aug. 13, fourth-year coach Kevin Boyd expects the senior to take on an enhanced leadership role as well.
“He's been trying to get me to talk more on the field,” Elston said of Boyd.
It is a transition for Elston, who despite being a fierce competitor, said she is typically one to let her game do the talking.
“I'm kind of one of the quieter people. I'm trying to get there, and hopefully it will come naturally just being one of the older players on the team and being around the players that are just starting out.”
Elston played her high school soccer locally at Moutain Pointe High School in Phoenix, but she said ASU wasn't her top choice of college destination.
“When I was younger I always wanted to get out of here,” Elston said. “Go to California and be one of those players. But as time ticked down, ASU was right next to me, and it's a great school.”
Elston began her career with the Sun Devils in 2007, the same season that Boyd took the reigns of the program.
She has watched as the coach has attempted to create a winning confidence in a program both believe is now headed in the right direction.
“I think [Boyd] did a great job of weeding out players who didn't want to be here and keeping people focused on the goal of making the postseason and being there to win,” Elston said. “He did a great job of coming in and sorting it out, making us the team that we are.”
Elston knows she will play a key role in ensuring a continued cultivation of the confidence around the program, the reason, she said, she spent the offseason working tirelessly to improve her game.
That effort included a stint in training camp with the U-23 Women's National Team earlier this spring in Florida.
With nine new additions to the roster for the Sun Devils this season, Elston said she has been impressed with the newcomers, anxious to lead the way in her final season. After bowing out to Wisconsin in the first round of the tournament a season ago, the senior, who hopes to become a speech pathologist, wants to finish her career with a taste of victory in the postseason.
“We know that we can get there and beat that first team,” Elston said. “It's a feeling of knowing we can win [in the NCAA Tournament] and that's what we're going to build upon this year. We're going to get there again and hopefully we can win that first game.”
Reach Nick at nkosmide@asu.edu
