In the midst of getting things rolling in conference play, No. 5 ASU will host No. 10 Cal at the Mona Plummer Aquatic Complex in Tempe on Saturday.
In last weekend’s match, No. 3 Stanford defeated ASU 8-5. Historically, the Cardinal has had the upper hand on the Sun Devils, as they have defeated ASU 23 times in a row. In addition, the Sun Devils have never beaten Stanford, and that’s the only division I program they have not beaten.
However, the ladies don’t have much time to dwell on last week's loss, because they will take on a No.10 Cal program this weekend.
Head coach Todd Clapper said Cal is a well-coached team.
“Cal has always been a hardworking and aggressive team,” he said. “They have two good centers, a couple good outside shooters and played UCLA to one goal last week. They are playing really well right now and so are we.”
The Bears are currently 19-5 overall and 3-1 in the MPSF. The Golden Bears are led by sophomore driver Carla Carrega, who has accumulated 52 goals on the season.
“It’s like any other team we play with someone who is leading them in scoring. … It’s a matter of understanding where she is at all times when you’re playing defense," Clapper said.
Another standout for Cal is junior center Emily Loughlin, who has found the net 32 times. In the net for the Bears are junior Madeline Trabucco and freshman Madison Tagg. The two have a combined 32 starts and 130 saves this season. The Golden Bears are coming off an 11-5 victory against Long Beach State.
ASU is putting last week in the past and is focusing on taking care of Cal.
“Record doesn’t mean that much to us, we are just preparing the best we can for the next game coming up,” Clapper said. “For us, we are just preparing all for Cal. In terms of what we need to do offensively and defensively from what we seen on film from them to put our team in the best position to win.”
This week, the Sun Devils are focusing on tightening up their defense. Last week, ASU gave up three power play goals. The anchor for ASU’s defense is redshirt sophomore goaltender Mia Rycraw, who has 172 saves this season.
The team has been preparing since Monday, watching film, and Rycraw said this week is huge for the team.
“We are really focused on beating Cal," she said. “This is a really important game for us, because if we win this game, we have a better chance of making the NCAA Tournament.”
Leading the charge offensively for the Sun Devils is senior captain Katie Sverchek. She has a total of 32 points, while scoring 23 goals and dishing out nine assists. Another offensive contributor for ASU is senior attacker Daisy Carter, who has 23 goals on the season.
Sverchek said the five full days of practice will be to the team's advantage.
“We weren’t too excited about last week's play, but I think moving forward, we have been working really hard,” she said. "We are going to have five full practices to work on everything, and I think if we just focus on our defense our offensive will come.”
Reach the reporter at chaz.frazier@asu.edu or follow @chaz_frazier on Twitter.
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