After winning their first two games of the weekend against San Diego and Sonoma State to advance to the semifinals of the Triton invitational, the ASU water polo team fell to No. 6 UC Irvine 10-9. ASU would go on to win the consolation final against CSU Northridge to place third overall in the tournament. The loss against UC Irvine marks the first loss for ASU this season, after starting off their season 6-0 at the UCSB Winter Invite. The Sun Devils now have a 9-1 record.
Saturday:
The Sun Devils would start off the tournament strong, notching a blowout win against Sonoma State. The Sun Devils would get off to a hot start, scoring eight goals in the first half alone, while only allowing the Seawolves one goal. The starters would be rested for the more pertinent games that were ahead, but ASU would still go on to score eight more goals in the second half, beating Sonoma State 16-2. Sophomore and freshman attackers Izabella Chiappini and Claudia Abad both recorded hat tricks in the blowout win.
ASU’s high octane offense would continue, with a high scoring first half against San Diego, scoring nine goals, and only allowing three. However, after a strong second half rally by the Aztecs, the Sun Devils were able to stave off the late offensive onslaught, beating San Diego 12-11. Chiappini and sophomore center Alkistis Benekou both had hat tricks in the victory. Redshirt junior goalkeeper E.B. Keeve was pivotal in the win, with 14 saves.
Sunday:
As head coach Todd Clapper predicted, ASU would face UC Irvine in the semifinal, pitting the No. 5 and No. 6 ranked teams in the nation against one another, ASU’s first true test of the season.
With neither team wanting to lose, the score would be close all game long. The game featured five lead changes and seven ties, with overtime being needed to decide a victor. With 15 seconds remaining in the second overtime, UC Irvine held a two goal lead, with Chiappini scoring a consolation goal as the game ended. The Sun Devils would suffer their first loss against a highly ranked team, falling 10-9. Chiappini would record yet another hat trick, with freshman attacker Lena Mihailovic also recording her own hat trick.
After suffering a bitter loss against UC Irvine, the Sun Devils rallied to beat CSU Northridge 12-7 in the consolation game, finishing third overall at the tournament. Chiappini would continue her hot streak, scoring five goals in the victory, the seventh time she has scored three or more goals thus far this season.
The Sun Devils will have nearly a two week break until they play again, where they will travel to California for the UC Irvine Invitational on Saturday, Feb. 21.
Reach the reporter at mtsteine@asu.edu or on Twitter @MarcTSteiner
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