April 13, 2003
TEMPE, Ariz. - After a solid first day of play at the Long Beach Invitational Saturday, the Arizona State water polo team completed its final road trip of the year with two losses, both coming to nationally ranked foes, to fall to 19-16 on the year. No. 14 UC San Diego handed a 9-8 overtime loss to the Sun Devils before No. 19 UC Irvine exacted revenge from an earlier loss this year with an 11-4 victory.
In the opener, the Sun Devils squandered a 7-5 lead with 4:40 showing on the game clock as the Tritons tallied twice in the final quarter to tie the game at seven heading into the two-overtime session. In extra time, UCSD took a one goal lead after the first overtime period with both teams scoring once in the second session to give the Tritons the win. After falling behind 2-1 after the first quarter, the Sun Devils came to life outscoring their opponents in the second and third periods, 5-2, for a 6-4 lead heading into the final quarter.
Lauren Jacobson (So., League City, Texas) led the offense with three goals while Gili Kollan (So., Kiriat Bialik, Israel) added a pair in the loss. Also scoring for ASU were Tessa Wyborny (Fr., Walnut Creek, Calif.), Ashley Orzalli (Jr., Acampo, Calif.) and Daya Mau (Fr., Honolulu, Hawaii) each tallied one goal in the game.
In the finale, the Anteaters raced out to a 3-1 lead and never looked back as they carried a 6-1 halftime lead. The Sun Devils added three goals in the final half of play, but UCI answered with five of its own for the final margin. Mau, Orzalli, Jacobson and Katie Davis (Jr., Riverside, Calif.) tallied in the loss.
Davis impressed the coaches of the 11 other teams in attendance as she garnered a spot on the Long Beach Invitational All-Tournament Team announced at the conclusion of the tournament Sunday.
The Sun Devils will close out their home schedule this weekend as they play host to the Sun Devil Invitational, April 18-19 at the Mona Plummer Aquatic Center. Scheduled to compete will be No. 20 Cal Baptist, Cal State Northridge and Santa Clara. ASU will meet CBU at 7 p.m. Friday and then take on SCU and CSUN at 11:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m., respectively.