The ASU water polo team will head to the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Championships hoping to upset three top-10 teams.
The No. 12 Sun Devils (11-12, 0-7 MPSF) will have a difficult road to the championship game, as the MPSF is clearly the toughest conference in the country for women’s water polo.
The top team in the country will host the tournament.
No. 1 Stanford (23-0, 7-0 MPSF) has already defeated the Sun Devils convincingly three times this season.
ASU coach Todd Clapper has confidence in his team despite the three losses by a combined score of 39-11.
“I think we’re looking good,” Clapper said. “We had a good week of practice last week. The team looks sharp, and I’m excited.”
Clapper is not the only one excited, as junior Mariam Salloum also feels the team is playing well in the later stages of the season.
“We’re playing great polo,” Salloum said. “We’ve been playing really well and we’re ready to attack for the last time.”
Although the Sun Devils are confident, they will have no room for error. Stanford is a team that scores both early and often.
The Cardinal, led by sophomore Annika Dries’ 51 goals, have outscored their opponents 73-25 in the first quarter so far this season.
Stanford’s ability to find the net has not been overlooked by ASU, and the Sun Devils realize how important defense will be in this game.
“We’ve got to have a good defensive game against them,” Clapper said. “That is going to be the real key thing.”
In addition to playing tough defense, the Sun Devils need to take advantage of Stanford’s weaknesses and capitalize on the mistakes the Cardinal make.
“They’re really strong, but we know that they have their weaknesses too, and if we exploit their weaknesses, then they are beatable,” Salloum said of Stanford.
Clapper agrees that the Cardinal are beatable, but added that it is only possible if the Sun Devils do not give Stanford any easy opportunities.
“We need to make them work for every opportunity they get,” Clapper said.
The Sun Devils have been playing good offense lately, but have been unable to finish possessions and get the ball in the goal. While Clapper is encouraged by the playmaking, he is also hoping that the shots start to find the back of the net.
“Our offense is getting to the point where we are creating [opportunities] each time down,” Clapper said. “We’re getting decent looks at the goal, and eventually those are going to fall for us.”
If ASU is able to upset Stanford on Friday, they will face the winner of the UCLA and USC game in the semifinals.
Reach the reporter at william.boor@asu.edu
