ASU’s water polo team heads to California this weekend for the next three games of their young season.

The No. 7-ranked Sun Devils are coming off a three-game sweep at the Michigan Invitational Tournament in Ann Arbor, Mich., last weekend where they combined for 40 points.

The team will take on No. 15-ranked Cal State Bakersfield and No. 14-ranked Cal State Northridge in the Cal Baptist Mini-Tournament on Saturday and unranked Hartwick in the UC Irvine Mini-Tournament on Sunday.

The Sun Devils beat Cal State Northridge last Saturday by a single goal in what was easily their most difficult game yet.

“Northridge gave us a lot of problems,” Sun Devil coach Todd Clapper said on Thursday. “They are a strong team with a great goaltender.”

Clapper said the team struggled defensively against Northridge, and now that they have had a chance to see them, they were making adjustments.

“Usually we like to play our game, and with Bakersfield and Hartwick, that’s what were gonna do,” Clapper said. “We know where we struggled with Northridge and we’re making the adjustments.”

Clapper said that last weekend went well, but the team needs to step it up as the competition gets better.

“Kelly Phelps had a solid weekend but by no means was that her best performance. She’s an all American and is capable of more, and we’re excited to see what she can do this weekend,” he said.

Clapper said that he was excited to see how first-year players like Lynlee Smith and Dana Harvey will develop.

“For some of these players, last week was their first collegiate competition, and we’re looking forward to seeing what they can do as the season progresses,” Clapper said.

To win this weekend, Clapper said the team needs a big performance from more experienced players like Addison McGrath, who scored five goals against Northridge last week, and a strong showing from whichever goaltender he puts between the pipes this weekend, a decision he said he has not yet made.

“We need for our goaltenders to commit to defense. Goalies will often start playing with an offensive mindset, and to be successful, we need to be strong defensively,” Clapper said.

Reach the reporter at jaking5@asu.edu.