It was a tough weekend for the ASU water polo team, which suffered two losses against Mountain Pacific Sports Federation conference rivals San Jose State 8-7 on Saturday and Stanford 12-6 on Sunday.
The No. 6 Sun Devils (12-8, 0-4 MPSF) fell behind early, as San Jose State put three goals on the board in the first quarter. ASU then knotted the score at 5-5 in the third, but it was unable to keep pace in the final frame.
“We were scratching our heads going in and knew that some things were not going right, and it carried into the game,” ASU coach Todd Clapper said. “We need to continue to improve.”
The No. 7 Spartans (14-8) netted three goals in the fourth quarter to seal the game and record their sixth consecutive win.
“That sharpness hasn’t been there — it wasn’t there Saturday. We weren’t finishing and scoring. They beat us on the loose balls a lot,” Clapper said.
Junior attacker Sarah Harris led the Sun Devil offensive attack with three goals in the game.
“She is getting more comfortable in the system and starting to assert herself more,” Clapper said. “It is helping out a ton.”
In their second MPSF matchup of the weekend, Stanford continued its dominance over ASU with a 12-6 win.
The Sun Devils are now 0-11 all-time against the No. 2 Cardinal (17-1).
“For me, I don’t really care what team they play for,” Clapper said. “They’re just another team that has certain strengths and weaknesses. When we get that win and get over the hump, it will be nice.”
The Sun Devils jumped out to an early lead with a goal by junior attacker Lynlee Smith. However, Stanford answered quickly with three goals of its own in the first quarter. The Cardinal led 6-3 at the halfway point and exploded for four goals in the third quarter to extend their lead. “The competitive edge was lacking at times, but we hustled more and were much more under control,” Clapper said. “We got more connected and had that competitive sharpness that is needed.”
ASU freshman center Shannon Haas continued her successful season by scoring two goals for the Sun Devils.
Despite two conference losses over the weekend, Clapper remains confident in his squad.
“There has been a big difference in how we played the last couple weeks, including Saturday and then Sunday,” he said. “In the last couple games, we have lost our identity a bit. Today, we played much better and are starting to get back to where we need to play.”
Reach the reporter at gregory.dillard@asu.edu
