The sun was shining, the fans were cheering and the pool was full of competition at the Mona Plummer Aquatic Center this past weekend as the ASU water polo team picked up three victories in the Arizona State Invitational.
The No. 7 Sun Devils (15-9) finished with only one loss in the four weekend contests.
ASU started off the weekend with a Friday evening match against Cal Baptist (16-13) and came away with a tight 14-13 victory.
“Offensively, we did a really nice job,” ASU coach Todd Clapper said. “[Our] passes were really good, and we had some really nice plays to finish.”
Each team scored early in the first quarter, with junior center Nikki Unbehaun getting the Sun Devils’ attack started. ASU jumped ahead in the second quarter and held the lead for the entire third frame before the Lancers tied the score at 12 apiece in the final four minutes of the game.
Goals by Haas and Miles sealed the Sun Devil victory.
The Sun Devil offensive attack was led by freshman center Shannon Haas, who scored four goals in the game.
“I did what I wanted to, getting goals for the team,” Haas said. “I have to start stepping up, and do what I can for the team.”
Haas received offensive help from senior attacker Bonnie Miles, who also netted four goals against Cal Baptist.
“Bonnie is playing good defense and offensively she’s making good reads,” Clapper said. “She’s doing a great job. She’s getting the job done, scoring the goals and making the passes.”
Junior attacker Lynlee Smith added three goals of her own. She was scoreless in the first half, but exploded with all three of her goals in the third quarter.
“She asserted herself at the right time,” Clappers said. “It showed maturity on her part, realizing opportunities and stepping up and finishing those shots. She was a big player on offense and defense, but [she] is distributing the ball as well.”
Day 2 of the invitational brought a MPSF conference matchup against No. 5 Hawaii but the Rainbow Wahine came away with a 9-5 win.
Junior attacker Sarah Harris scored two goals for ASU, but the Rainbow Wahine (13-6) offense countered with six goals in the first half before adding three more in the second half to defeat ASU.
“We created more good looks at the goal than they did,” Clapper said. “It came down to them putting away their good looks. We created a lot of good opportunities that we didn’t finish. That was the difference in the game.”
It was ASU’s third loss to the Rainbow Wahine this season.
After the tough loss to Hawaii, ASU got back in the win column with a 19-7 victory over Concordia (11-9).
ASU came out strong with six first-quarter goals.
A goal by Miles 41 seconds into the game put ASU on the board. Haas continued her successful weekend with two goals, while Smith tacked on four more goals in the game.
The offense fired on all cylinders, with 14 different Sun Devils scoring at least one goal in the game.
“As a team on the offensive end, we really connected better than we have,” Clapper said.
The Sun Devils concluded their weekend with a Sunday morning match against Santa Clara (12-10), where a strong second half led to an 11-4 win.
The Sun Devil offense struggled out of the gate with only four goals in the first half.
“Everything starts on defense,” Clapper said. “In the first half, we did a lot of watching. When we get rattled on defense, it takes away our counterattack.”
The second half was a different story for the Sun Devils, as they netted four third-quarter goals.
In the fourth quarter, sophomore goalie Dana Harvey launched a pool-length pass to Smith, who fired in her second goal of the quarter and third of the game.
“In the second half, we ran defense more effectively and pushed the transition,” Clapper said. “We played better and had better opportunities.”
With a 3-1 record in their first home action of the season, the Sun Devils are excited about their performance at Mona Plummer Aquatic Center.
“We are doing really a lot better than last weekend,” Haas said. “We are stepping up and getting back to where we were. It’s really exciting to come home and have our friends come out and watch us.”
Reach the reporter at gregory.dillard@asu.edu
