The Sun Devils would split their games Saturday, losing 10-4 against Stanford only to come back and obliterate Hartwick 14-2.
Stanford:
Stanford would gain first possession, but would turn the ball over. A miscommunication at the Stanford goal would lead to a steal by Stanford, allowing Stanford to put one past redshirt junior goalkeeper E.B. Keeve just a minute and a half into the game. Stanford would lob the ball over Keeve for their second goal just a minute later.
Junior center Abbey Kerth would score the first goal of the game for ASU with less than two minutes remaining in the period. Stanford would try to score once more before the period was over, but Keeve would block the shot out of bounds. She would block the follow up shot, ending the period. ASU trailed 2-1 at the end of the first quarter.
Stanford would win possession to start the second period, and ASU would again gain back possession after a failed shot attempt. However, Stanford would soon after score their third goal with 6:35 remaining in the period. Stanford would find the back of the net not one minute later, leading the Sun Devils 4-1.
Stanford would continue their high scoring second quarter with yet another goal with 3:47 remaining, putting them up 5-1. ASU would break their scoring drought after a goal by Alkistis Benekou with 3:01 remaining, cutting the deficit to three.
Stanford would respond seconds later with yet another goal of their own, but ASU would find the back of the net to cut the lead back to three, with Stanford leading 6-3.
Keeve would have a massive block with 50 seconds remaining in the second quarter after a Stanford fast break run, giving ASU some much needed momentum. Keeve would get another block to end the half.
Stanford would lead 6-3 at halftime after a high octane quarter.
Stanford would again win the sprint to gain the first possession of the half. Stanford would score the first goal of the third quarter with 5:31 remaining, extending their lead to four.
Senior attacker Petra Pardi would score off a five meter penalty, one of two goals she would score in the game, chipping away at the deficit.
Stanford would get a skid shot past Keeve with 2:53 remaining, with ASU now trailing 8-4.
Keeve would get another massive rejection with two minutes remaining in the quarter, but the rebound would end up in Stanford’s hands, who would manage to score yet another goal, which would be followed up with another seconds later, giving Stanford a 10-4 lead heading into the final quarter of play.
Head coach Todd Clapper said the Sun Devils showed some good moments against Stanford.
“Against Stanford we had some really good moments, particularly on the defensive end,” he said. “Some mistakes led to easy opportunities for them. They are a really strong team and they make you pay when you make those mistakes. That was really the story there with Stanford.”
ASU would have a difficult task on front of them going into the final quarter of play, trailing by six points.
Stanford would win the sprint as they had every other quarter, gaining the first possession of the period.
Redshirt freshman goalkeeper Mia Rycraw would have two big saves to start the final period of play off. Rycraw would be caught off guard with 4:32 remaining leading to a near full court shot attempt by Stanford that would hit the crossbar and go out of bounds.
Rycraw would have a big block in the final minute of the game, completing a shutout period with a total of four blocks. Keeve would have 10 blocks the game.
Clapper looked at ways for the Sun Devils to improve.
“We have to limit against the press, we have to limit the offensive turnovers, the offensive fouls,” Clapper said. “Those and a couple of steals on the perimeter lead to some opportunities in the transition. Sometimes we lost their top players, and didn’t react to go out and guard them quick enough.”
Clapper is content to see that the team is playing better against more difficult opponents.
“We are getting better,” Clapper said. “We are getting better. That was probably a better game than we played against SC.”
Hartwick:
After a loss against Stanford the Sun Devils wanted to finish out the day on a decisive win. ASU would start out strong and never look back.
“Against Hartwick, I think we are faster than them, they have a lot of new players on their team, so even though we are pretty young, we are a little more experienced than them, and I think that just showed,” Clapper said.
ASU would gain the first possession of the game and would set up a good offensive attack, but would get blocked. Benekou would score the first goal of the game after her first attempt was blocked, giving ASU a one-goal lead early on in the game.
Freshman attacker Lena Mihailovic would score her first goal of the day the next possession, increasing ASU’s early lead.
Pardi would score two goals late in the first period, extending the Sun Devil lead. ASU would finish the quarter with a dominant 4-0 lead, shutting out Hartwick.
ASU would continue their dominant ways by gaining the first possession once again
Mihailovic would score with 6:15 remaining in the second period, and Pardi and, Freshman attacker Claudia Abad would contribute a goal each, pushing the Sun Devil lead to 7-0 at the half.
ASU would win the possession again to start off the third quarter, but would not be able to capitalize on the first possession. Hartwick would finally score in the third quarter with 3:55 remaining, the first of two.
Sophomore attacker Izabella Chiappini would score her first goal of the game in the 2:35 mark, and Abad would score her second goal of the game with a little over a minute remaining.
Freshman utility Taylor Bertrand would score her first goal of the game with 20 seconds remaining in the third quarter. The Sun Devils would head into the final quarter of play with a commanding 10-1 lead under their belts.
Freshman utility Sammy Snow would get a steal and swim down the pool with only the goalie to beat, and finish off the fast break with a goal. Hartwick would respond with a goal of their own, but it was too little, too late as the Sun Devil lead was insurmountable.
Abad would score again with 4:36 remaining, but would not be done for the day. Redshirt sophomore Taylor Johnson would receive a five meter penalty and convert, giving ASU a 13-2 lead.
Abad would score yet again with one minute left in the game, her fourth and final goal of the game. The Sun Devils would secure a resounding 14-2 victory.
Clapper said he enjoyed the chemistry and teamwork in their win over Hartwick.
“The team chemistry was really good in that second game,” Clapper said. “Everybody was playing for each other, supporting each other, talking, and so it was a really good feeling from that second game.”
Clapper is focused on playing good water polo, and is less concerned about the scoreboard.
“We are focused on playing the right polo,” Clapper said. “Playing for each other, seeing the open player on defense, reacting to what they do, and being able to cover up what they are trying to accomplish on offense, and I felt like we did a really good job of that…If we are getting fourteen goals we were able to play everybody, which was nice. It was really good to leave the day on a high note.”
Reach the reporter at mtsteine@asu.edu or follow him on Twitter @MarcTSteiner
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