On a brisk Saturday morning, No. 5 ASU water polo defeated No. 15 San Diego State 13-4 in the ASU Tournament to open the season.
The Sun Devils (3-0) were led by sophomore attacker Maud Koopman, who put up five goals on eight shots. Koopman also led the team in steals, but said she was more focused on how the team worked together to get the victory rather than her individual success.
“We were good with each other, we fought for each other, so I think we did really well,” Koopman said. “I think we could work on looking over the whole pool before we make a play, but overall I think we did a great job.”
Junior goalkeeper Mia Rycraw reiterated her point.
“I think we took advantage of the majority of the counter attack opportunities that we had,” Rycraw said. “We were a lot more confident in our shooting as well.”
And we are underway! pic.twitter.com/zWodh583sd
— ASU Water Polo (@ASUWaterPolo) January 28, 2017
While Rycraw believes that the team did relatively well, she said there are points that can be improved upon in the upcoming matchups.
Rycraw posted eight saves against the Aztecs and allowed a mere three goals off 23 attempts.
Following behind Koopman’s stellar morning was junior attacker Lena Mihailovic, who put up three goals and two steals on the day. Head coach Todd Clapper praised Mihailovic for her outing.
"I'm really happy with, in particular, how Lena came out," Clapper said. "In the past, she has second-guessed some of her shooting in the early parts. She was really confident and really decisive today, offensively, and I was really proud of her."
Clapper said while there were improvements to be made, the Sun Devils did a good job defensively — despite the new players in that role.
On Sunday, the cold weather didn’t stop the Sun Devils from demolishing No. 21 Wagner 13-3 during the second day of the ASU Tournament.
Three goals were scored in the first quarter of play — one coming from Saturday’s leading scorer, junior Maud Koopman.
Koopman had three goals against the Wagner Seahawks, however it was senior Alkistis Benekou who led the way for ASU in the second game scoring four goals.
Both Benekou and Koopman were the driving force behind the Sun Devils 10-point victory over the Seahawks.
ASU didn’t let up in its third and final match, where they beat No. 8 University of California, Santa Barbara 8-4.
The matchup started with both teams pressing hard — the fast paced offense led to quick scores from both teams, the first to strike was Benekou with 5 minutes left in the first quarter.
In the final quarter of gameplay, the Sun Devils defended their lead successfully with key steals from junior Kayla Casas and Rogge. After a hard fought game, the Sun Devils swam away with an undefeated record in their first tournament of the season.
“I think this was very good to see where we’re at and what we need to improve,” Benekou said after the game. “We have two weeks until the next tournament so we need to watch some videos to see what we need to improve or fix.”
Senior goalkeeper Taylor Barrett agreed that while the team had success defensively and offensively, one thing they can improve on is how they communicate between plays.
“I think that I need improve a lot on communication and talk to my teammates a little bit more,” Barrett said.
Barrett spoke about how Clapper teaches the team to press hard on defense in practice, which helps translate into the game.
“We try to have a culture that whether we take a bad loss or we win all three games ... we’re coming back to work,” Clapper said. “They feel good about starting 3-0 but we have our sights set higher.”
Up next, the Sun Devils will compete in a tournament at the University of California, San Diego on Feb. 11-12 in San Diego.
Reach the reporter at klbroder@asu.edu or follow @KellyB1459 on Twitter.
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