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No. 2 ASU water polo lives up to ranking, sweeps Brown Tourney

Sophomore attacker Ao Gao passes a ball over a Stanford defender to a teammate on March 24. The ASU water polo team easily handled their competition and won all five games in the Brown Tournament. (Photo by Murphy Bannerman)
Sophomore attacker Ao Gao passes a ball over a Stanford defender to a teammate on March 24. The ASU water polo team easily handled their competition and won all five games in the Brown Tournament. (Photo by Murphy Bannerman)

Sophomore attacker Ao Gao passes a ball over a Stanford defender to a teammate on March 24. The ASU water polo team easily handled their competition and won all five games in the Brown Tournament. (Photo by Murphy Bannerman) Sophomore attacker Ao Gao passes a ball over a Stanford defender to a teammate on March 24. The ASU water polo team easily handled their competition and won all five games in the Brown Tournament. (Photo by Murphy Bannerman)

Going into Rhode Island, the highest-ranked team No. 3 ASU would face would be No. 15 Michigan. A loss to any of the teams could hurt the its ranking.

The Sun Devils (24-5) put those worries to bed with a five-game sweep at the Brown Tournament.

ASU matched up against Marist, Brown, No. 19 Hartwick, No. 15 Michigan and Harvard, outscoring its opponents 67-30.

The offensive star of the weekend was senior center Shannon Haas. She continued her torrid pace by adding 15 goals this weekend.

“She’s getting in position well,” coach Todd Clapper said. “She’s getting the ball off quickly. Even if there’s a crash or a zone, she’s able to beat the zone with her quickness.

Senior attacker Alicia Brightwell missed the end of the ASU Tournament with an injury but returned to the pool to tack on 13 goals to pad her MPSF-leading goal total. It now stands at 74.

“It was good for her to get back to her routine,” Clapper said.

Freshman goalie E.B. Keeve came in leading the the MPSF in saves. She had 256 in 22 games before the weekend, 44 more than the next-best goalie. She added 57 in the five games.

“They stepped up and got the five wins,” said coach Todd Clapper.

 

Friday

ASU 14, Marist 2

Haas led the way with four goals and 10 different Sun Devils recorded either a goal or an assist. Keeve had 11 saves and only one goal allowed.

 

Saturday

ASU 16, Brown 5

Again Haas took the spotlight, putting four more balls in net. Even backup goalie junior Ianeta Hutchinson added a goal from her own net.

ASU 10, Hartwick 7

In a rematch of two weeks ago, ASU once again took care of the Hawks. Haas scored four goals for the third straight game. Brightwell matched that with four of her own. Keeve blocked 15 shots, in what Clapper called a brilliant game on her part.

 

Sunday

ASU 10, Michigan 8

In the closest game of the weekend, Brightwell scored five times. Including her two assists, she played a direct role in seven of the team’s 10 goals.

ASU 17, Harvard 8

Brightwell recorded another hat trick, and four other ASU players had a multiple-goal game.

The Sun Devils’ victory over Harvard extends their win streak to 22 games over lower-ranked opponents. They have not lost to a lower ranked team.

As important as taking care of business this weekend was, ASU faces a bigger challenge next week against San Jose State in Tempe on Senior Day. It will very much have a playoff feel with the upcoming MPSF tournament.

 

Reach the reporter at justin.emerson@asu.edu


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