On April 19, 2008 the Arizona State water polo team defeated San Diego State 10-7.
That win, more than three years ago, was the last time the No. 11 Sun Devils won a conference game until they beat San Diego State 11-9 on Sunday during the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Championships.
“It felt really good,” ASU coach Todd Clapper said. “We played well in the first half, but we settled down in the second half and then we pulled away.”
Senior Lynlee Smith was instrumental to ASU’s success and led the Sun Devils (12-14, 1-9 MPSF) in scoring with four goals.
Smith led the scoring attack, but several Sun Devils contributed as four different players had multi-goal games.
Although the win was certainly enjoyable for the Sun Devils, the weekend was not entirely full of good results with losses in their first two games of the MPSF tournament and a seventh place finish.
ASU opened the tournament with a 15-6 loss against the No. 1 Stanford Cardinal and a 10-9 loss to No. 4 USC.
While both of these contests ended in defeats, they were two entirely different games.
Against Stanford, the Sun Devils struggled and allowed the Cardinal to score 10 straight goals, but ASU played much better against the Trojans.
“I thought the best game we played all weekend was Saturday against USC,” Clapper said.
The Sun Devils led 7-4 at halftime, behind the four first-half goals from senior Sarah Harris, and appeared poised for an upset victory.
However, the Trojans scored five times in the third quarter and then added one more in the fourth to escape with the victory.
Despite the disappointing loss, the Sun Devils were still pleased with their overall performance.
“Even though they came back we still played really well,” Clapper said. “We had some great opportunities, but we just misfired. That’s unfortunately the way things are in water polo.”
In addition to Harris’ four goals, the Sun Devils also received a great performance from Smith, who recorded four assists. That brought her season total to 50 and also set the ASU single-season record.
The Sun Devils may not have won the MPSF Tournament, or even finished in the top three, but they did have a successful trip to California and are pleased with the way the season ended.
“I thought we played really well,” Clapper said. “I thought our defense was really good all weekend. It’s really nice to finish the season on a high note.”
Reach the reporter at william.boor@asu.edu
