Even though the ASU women's soccer team finished 2023 with a positive record, offensive reinforcements were welcome to come support the team's front line, and that help has come in the form of freshman forward Kierra Blundell. The Canadian striker has not only lived up to the lofty expectations placed on her but has become one of the most impactful players on the ASU side this season.
Blundell is tied for first in assists among Sun Devils with three and currently paces the team in goals with seven, a mark that is tied for third in the Big 12 conference. She is also the only player for ASU this season with a hat trick which was against UPenn — just the fourth in ASU history by a freshman. She continued her ways with a dominant performance against Houston last week, accounting for both of the Sun Devil goals and half of the shots on goal.
"She's super young, she's super eager, she wants the ball, she wants to score, she wants to be on the field," senior defender Olivia Coleman said. "I think that at the very least, that's what you want out of a player."
Blundell's journey began at the age of six when she first joined Langley FC. She later moved on to the Vancouver Whitecaps FC Girls Elite program in 2021 and was a captain of the squad in 2024. The Canadian led League1 British Columbia with 10 goals and led her side to the championship.
Blundell credits her experience with the Whitecaps for helping her build a strong foundation as a young player, especially in terms of conditioning.
"Whitecaps was an amazing program, setting me up for success coming in," Blundell said. "Keeping me fit, keeping me strong, especially the lifting side in the gym."
It was during Blundell's high school tenure that ASU women's soccer head coach Graham Winkworth first spotted her and was struck by her talent.
"She smacked one in from the edge of the box with her right foot, and then five minutes later, smacked one in from the edge of the box with the left foot and then bulldozed her way through the next challenge," Winkworth said. "I told the coach at the time, I said 'I want that one.'"
In addition to her goal-scoring ability, the forward's presence as a playmaker has allowed Winkworth to put her in with various players up top.
"It's been nice because where she's obviously a goal threat herself but where she can link other players into the play like Enasia (Colon) and Kez (Keri Matthews) and Cam (Valladares), for example, and Megan (Sofield), it means the goals are coming from lots of different areas, and when you're scouting teams ... it's difficult to prepare against," Winkworth said.
Blundell's pure striking ability has meshed well with the rest of the forwards and provided the Sun Devils with unique looks.
"Me and Meg (Sofield) are very similar. We love to come off the front, hold up the ball, hold up defenders," Blundell said. "Ena (Colon) and Cam (Valladares) are a bit different. They like to run in behind. They like to run at people. So knowing that balance really helps us because we can't have four of the same attackers."
Beyond her chemistry with the front line, Blundell has a well-rounded individual skill set with an attacking mindset and a capacity to score with both feet.
"She's a bit of a nine. She doesn't like to run in behind too often, but she likes to come up," junior defender Grace Gillard said. "She's strong. She holds up the ball. She's not afraid to turn and run at players and that showed with a couple penalties."
Blundell's addition this year comes at a pivotal time for ASU. Two years ago, the all-time leading scorer for the Sun Devils, graduate student forward Nicole Douglas, left the school. The Sun Devils have been searching for a replacement ever since.
"I knew she would be a goal scorer for us ... She's got a lot of similarities to a previous player that we had and if she can show half the quality in her career that Dougie (Douglas) did over her career, then we've got some special player," Winkworth told Walter Cronkite Sports Network earlier this year.
It's tempting to look ahead to the future and think what Blundell could become in the years ahead, but right now her focus is completely on this season.
"I just want to keep scoring goals," Blundell said. "It's going to be really important for us playing a couple really good teams coming up next. So getting on the score sheet, getting an assist and impacting positively on the field is going to be really important."
Edited by Henry Smardo, Sophia Braccio and Madeline Schmitke.
Reach the reporter at pvallur2@asu.edu and follow @PrathamValluri on X.
Like The State Press on Facebook and follow @statepress on X.
Pratham is a sophomore studying sports journalism with a minor in business. This is his second semester with The State Press.
