ASU junior attacker Jordyn Behar knows the number nine well.
Last season, she played nine games and had nine points. This season, she has multiplied her point total by nine (well, almost) to 82 and is the focal point of the ASU women's lacrosse attack.
Behar has been the Sun Devils' superstar of a team that is second in the Big 12 with a 2-1 conference record and 9-6 overall. She has become the "quarterback" of the attack and positions herself behind the net to facilitate it, frequently finding fellow junior attackers Lydia Oldknow and Teagan Ng.
Behar's ability to run the attack has led her to a record-breaking season. The junior passed the program's single-season assist record 12 games into the season. She now sits at 52, smashing the record by six with two games left.
"(I'm) pretty confident," Behar said. "I mean, it's fun. Trust my team, they trust me. So, whatever they need me to do, I'll do it."
Behar is from Mineola, New York, a small village on Long Island, and attended The Wheatley School before joining ASU in 2023. The attacker is one of many Sun Devils from the Empire State.
READ MORE: From the Northeast to Tempe: ASU lacrosse's strong East Coast base
Behar didn't see much playing time as a freshman. Her first appearance came against Florida, and she scored her first of many goals as a Sun Devil. She appeared in two more games that season but finished the year with just three appearances and a goal.
Her sophomore year she tripled her playing time, appearing in nine games off the bench. Though she couldn't appear in more games after an injury ended her season, she was a point machine, scoring two goals and adding seven assists to finish as a point-per-game player.
This season has seen an absolute explosion from Behar, setting ASU lacrosse on fire. The junior has been the offensive force the Sun Devils needed. Behar went from never starting a game to starting and appearing in all 15 games this season.
Her point total has soared. The attacker's 52 assists put her near the top of the NCAA. Behar sits at third in the nation in assists behind Ashley Humphrey of North Carolina and Mckenna Davis of Boston College.
Assisting is just one part of her game. She is also third on the Sun Devils' roster with 30 goals, trailing the two attackers she often sets up, Oldknow and Ng.
"QB1, right?" said head coach Taryn VanThof Puls. "She's been awesome. I think she meshes so well with the offensive unit that they make her job a little bit easier because we have so many threats on the offensive end."
In lacrosse, a "quarterback" is a player who runs an offense and passes off the ball to set up her fellow teammates. Behar shows what a proper QB or point guard in lacrosse looks like.
Her impressive season isn't over yet, as the Sun Devils have two games remaining before the Big 12 tournament. They welcome San Diego State to Tempe this Saturday before traveling down to Gainesville, Florida, to take on the Gators in their toughest game of the year.
No matter what the last couple of games bring to the Sun Devils, Behar's playstyle is going to be instrumental for the program's future.
"I think Jordyn in-game is just sneaky," VanThof Puls said. "You don't see it in every play, but she just keeps adding points and assists and goals time and time again, which then at the end of the game, you're like, 'Oh my gosh, she really had eight points today.'"
Edited by Jack Barron, Sophia Braccio and Katrina Michalak.
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Niall is a junior studying sports journalism. This is his first semester with The State Press. He has also worked at WCSN and Blaze Radio.
