The hopes of a flawless season ended for the ASU water polo team this weekend as the Sun Devils’ perfect record was tarnished with a trio of losses.

The Sun Devils were in Palo Alto, Calif., for the Stanford Invitational tournament this past weekend, where they took on the likes of No. 1 USC and No. 2 Stanford.

The Sun Devils’ first game of the four-game tournament was against USC on Saturday morning, where a nine-goal third quarter by the Trojans determined the Sun Devils’ first loss of the season.

The Sun Devils lost the game 19-9, as senior Addison McGrath was held to a single goal in her first single-goal game of the season.

Sophomore Lynlee Smith also recorded no goals. Freshman Bella Morrison scored two goals in what was her collegiate debut, a performance that ASU coach Todd Clapper called “part of the system.”

“Bella was just cleared to play, and there was no questioning her ability,” Clapper said. “She is an important part of out plan and we’re excited to have her playing.”

ASU’s only win of the tournament came on Saturday afternoon against No. 18 Indiana. The game went into double overtime, where ASU edged out a 10-9 victory. Addison McGrath scored four goals in the game and recorded her 200th collegiate goal.

The Sun Devils went on to lose the final two games of the tournament.

ASU lost its second game 15-14 against No. 2 Stanford, and fell 11-6 to No. 10 San Jose State for its third defeat.

Clapper said that the team can compete with the higher echelon of competition, but was exposed for the first time in the Stanford tournament.

“We can play with them,” Clapper said. “This is just indicative of the work that we need to do. We can prepare and get better and compete with these teams.”

Clapper said he has confidence that his team will figure out a way to turn the season around after a weekend that smudged what was a terrific start to the season.

“We’re starting to mix in some new players, and we’ll continue to work hard,” he said. “Stanford and USC are No. 1 and 2 in the nation right now for a reason, and we just have to learn from experience and take it into the rest of the season.”

The Sun Devils have the next weekend off as they prepare for the UC Irvine Invitational in Irvine, Calif., on Feb. 21 and 22.

Their first home match of the season comes against UCLA on Feb. 28.

Reach the reporter at jaking5@asu.edu.