No. 5 ASU water polo will presumably become No. 4 after finishing fourth the UC Irvine tournament.
ASU beat No. 15 Cal State Northridge and rival No. 4 Cal before losing to No. 1 Stanford and No. 3 UCLA.
“Our goal with our team was to focus on Saturday,” said coach Todd Clapper.
His team was able to do just that, winning both of their Saturday contests.
He admitted disappointment since the Sun Devils did not win on Sunday, but remained pleased with the team’s results, particularly the Saturday victory over Cal.
Bruin consolation game
ASU's final game of the tournament ended in a 14-7 loss to No. 3 UCLA.
The Bruins put four goals on the board in the first quarter, putting the Sun Devils in a hole they couldn’t climb out of.
Redshirt freshman goalie E.B. Keeve was simply swarmed. In addition to the 14 goals that were scored by the Bruins, Keeve also blocked 13 shots.
“Overall she played well,” Clapper said. He also reiterated her status as a freshman and called the tournament a “learning experience.”
Cardinal capitalize
With spirits high after beating Cal, ASU water polo was grounded by No. 1 Stanford by a final score of 10-3, Sunday.
Unlike the Cal game, this one was never close.
Stanford outscored ASU 4-1 in the first period and 3-0 in the second, putting the Sun Devils in a 7-1 hole at the half. ASU put two up in in the third, but the Cardinal matched them. Stanford then added one more in the fourth, leading to the 10-3 final.
ASU defeats Cal
Saturday, the Sun Devils knocked off their rival, No. 4 Cal, 8-7.
“It’s a really big win for them,” said coach Todd Clapper.
It was a complete team effort. Five different Sun Devils registered a goal.
It was also a tightly contested effort. The game was tied after every quarter of play.
ASU was able to separate themselves in the fourth, when they netted the eighth and eventual winning goal.
Out of the gates with a W
Behind senior center Shannon Haas’ four goals, No. 5 ASU water polo started off the tournament exactly as planned: with a win over No. 15 Cal State Northridge 11-6.
The game was close for the first after, as after two quarters, ASU held a slight 5-4 lead.The third quarter is when the Sun Devils pulled away.
ASU added four goals extending their lead to 9-4. They added two more in the final quarter to pick up the victory.
Reach the reporter at justin.emerson@asu.edu
