Lady Luck was on the side of the No. 20 ASU water polo team as it upset No. 15 UC Irvine 6-5 at the Mona Plummer Aquatic Center on Wednesday.
With 12 seconds remaining in regulation, junior Katie Davis scored from point-blank range off a rebound to put the Sun Devils (17-9) on top.
"I was just in the right spot at the right time, and luckily it went in," Davis said of her game-winning goal.
Head coach Vicki Gorman agreed that Davis' decisive score was fortunate.
"It was lucky," Gorman said. "We hadn't practiced that play. We managed to get a shot off, and Davis was there to clean up like she usually is."
For Davis, it marked her 29th goal of the season and her eighth game-winner. She leads the team in both categories.
"[Davis] has turned into an amazing asset for our team," Gorman said.
The Devils got off to an early lead as freshmen Heather Rempfer and Tessa Wyborny each scored a goal in the opening quarter. Wyborny netted the third goal for the team in the first minute of the second quarter.
Gorman was pleased with the performance of the first-year players.
"The freshmen have just exploded," she said. "We're a hard team to defend. We have a lot of weapons."
After freshman goalie Lizzie Houck recorded five of her 11 saves, UCI tallied a goal, which cut the Sun Devils' 3-0 lead by one.
Sophomore Bryn Keuch extended ASU's lead with a 4-meter penalty goal to end the first half at 4-1.
Penalties against ASU early in the third quarter, however, led to two man-advantage goals for the Anteaters (11-13). On a breakaway, UCI scored a third-consecutive goal to tie the game at 4-4.
The Sun Devils eventually retook the lead when Davis tallied the game-winner.
The win over the No. 15 Anteaters marks the greatest upset of a ranked team for ASU in its short two-year history.
"Now everyone knows that we're out there and that we're good," Davis said.
The victory comes at a favorable time as the Sun Devils began an eight-game home stand Wednesday. Next up for ASU is No. 11 UC Santa Barbara today at 4 p.m.
"[Winning the first game of this home stand] is the kind of momentum that you just can't create," Gorman said.
Reach the reporter at daniel.conroy@asu.edu.
