Talia Massi is an ASU Cronkite School of Journalism student assigned to cover Hamilton High School for AZPreps365.com

Everything moved faster when Callie Darst went from starring on Hamilton's soccer team to playing for Arizona State.

Now, with the addition of new facilities, Darst and her Sun Devil teammates are hoping to take advantage of the additional fields to improve their game.

“The ball moves very fast which helps with the way we are trying to play this year, which is very fast with moving the ball around, so it’s going to help us a lot,” Darst predicted. 

ASU upgraded its soccer and lacrosse stadium by adding three grass fields and one turf field during the summer.

This addition will benefit the women’s soccer and lacrosse programs, as well as football, band and other intramural sports and activities. 

“We have been known for having one of the best fields in the Pac-12, but now it’s very nice,” said Darst, a sophomore defender/midfielder on the soccer team.

Darst graduated from Hamilton in 2019 and is studying medical engineering at ASU. 

Last season, the women’s soccer team practiced and played on the same field. Darst loves the fact that they now have a separate field to practice and play on. To her, it is more official and makes it more of a “big deal.”

Darst and her teammates especially love the edition of the turf field. 

“Whenever we used to practice leading up to a game that had a turf field like Washington, it would always be a little nerve-racking [because] we haven’t played on turf in forever, [but] now we have a field to practice on for that,” Darst said.

The expansion was approved by the Arizona Board of Regents in November 2019. A collaboration between Sun Devil Athletics and Arizona State’s Educational Outreach and Student Services, the $15.4 million project is just the beginning of the planned Athletics Village within ASU’s Novus Innovation Corridor, according to an ASU press release.

Knowing all that went into the renovation, Darst and the team now feel more supported than ever by the athletic department and the university as a whole.

“I think it just made us reassured that the whole program is behind us and they believe in us. We had a little bit of a rough season [last year], but they definitely still have faith in us to turn that around,” Darst said. 

Last season, the women’s soccer team went 6-11-3. Darst started in all nine non-conference games as a freshman and had her first career assist against Central Arkansas. 

The team is hopeful for a 2021 season. They are projected to start conference games the first week of February, and coach Graham Winkworth is hoping for some out-of-conference contests, Darst said.

“Fingers crossed,” Darst added with high hopes.