Feb. 2, 2003
TEMPE, Ariz. - On a weekend of firsts, the Arizona State water polo added another to its collection Sunday morning by handing No. 19 Pacific a 10-6 loss, the first win over a ranked opponent in program history. The Sun Devils improved to 2-1 on the year after defeating UC Santa Cruz, 14-0, and falling to No. 16 Hartwick, 8-2, Saturday in the Arizona State Invitational at the Mona Plummer Aquatic Center.
ASU, after being unable to find its rhythm on offense in its loss to HC, came out on fire by finding the back of the cage five times in the first period. Tessa Wyborny (Fr., Walnut Creek, Calif.) scored the first and third goals of the contest with Gili Kollan (So., Kiriat Bialik, Israel), Bryn Kuech (So., Bonsall, Calif.) and Lauren Jacobson (So., League City, Texas) also scoring in the first. Katie Davis (Jr., Riverside, Calif.) got into the mix by assisting on three of the goals with Kuech adding a helper as well.
The Tigers took the momentum in the second period, coming out and scoring three goals to the Sun Devils' one to cut the ASU advantage to 6-3. Daya Mau (Fr., Honolulu, Hawaii) netted the lone ASU goal which also figured to be the game-winning tally. With the momentum, UOP looked to score at the onset of the third quarter with leading scorer Jessica Schroeder charging toward the goal. Her shot, however, was stopped by goalie Lizzie Houck (Fr., San Diego, Calif.) and the ensuing possession netted ASU a goal as Kuech connected on her second goal, this time on a four-meter penalty shot. Lena Soghomonian (So., Belmont, Calif.) added the second goal of the quarter with an assist going to Ashley Orzalli (Jr., Acampo, Calif.).
Ahead 8-4, the Sun Devils and Tigers each scored twice in the closing stanza to keep the four-point margin in favor of ASU. UOP started the scoring 16 seconds into the quarter, but Orzalli answered back 40 seconds later with a goal of her own. Schroeder again found the net for the Tigers to bring them to within three, but the Sun Devils scored again on a scramble in front of the UOP net. Kollan ripped a shot from the right post and the goalie deflected the shot toward the middle where Davis took a quick shot. The shot was saved, but loose in front of the left post where Heather Rempfer (Fr., Lodi, Calif.) was able to collect it and put in the back of the cage.
The Sun Devils play once more Sunday, facing UC Santa Cruz at 2:30 p.m.