April 3, 2004
TEMPE, Ariz. - The No. 18 Arizona State varsity team got stellar defensive play in the goal from Jennifer Sanderson and saw Elaine Bentley, Katie Davis and Katie Hedley each score three goals as the Sun Devils scored a 7-4 upset of No. 10 UC Santa Barbara in Mountain Pacific Sports Federation action on the road Saturday. The win over the Gauchos (11-10, 2-4 MPSF) marks the highest ranked team the Sun Devils (9-12, 2-6 MPSF) have defeated in their history, surpassing the 8-3 defeat of then-No. 14 UC San Diego Jan. 25 this year.
ASU opened the game with Hedley (Fr., Lake Forest, Calif.) scoring her first goal of the contest in the opening minute of play to stake the visitors to an early 1-0 lead. Later in the period, Davis (Sr., Riverside, Calif.) added her first of the game to not only extend the lead to 2-0 at the end of the first quarter, but also extend her scoring streak to 21 games this season. In the second stanza, ASU added two more goals to UCSB's one to push the advantage to 4-1 at the intermission.
In the third quarter, the Sun Devils struck immediately with Bentley (So., San Diego, Calif.) scoring on a 4-meter shot for the only goal of the quarter for ASU. The Gauchos climbed back into the contest with two goals of their own in the third to bring the score to a 5-3 ASU advantage heading into the final quarter of play. In the fourth, the Sun Devils added two more goals to the Gauchos' one to bring the score to its final tally, 7-4.
Kimberlee Stevens (So., Lodi, Calif.) added one goal to the scoring mix for the visitors while Ashley Bower (Fr., Bondi Beach, Australia) with two and Stevens, Tessa Wyborny (So., Walnut Creek, Calif.) and goalie Sanderson (Jr., Walnut Creek, Calif.) each adding assists. Defensively, Sanderson tied her season and career highs for saves in a game with 12 while Davis recorded four assists in the field. The Sun Devils scored all three times they held the 6-on-5 advantage while only allowing the Gauchos to score once in their five opportunities. ASU also went 1-for-1 on its 4-meter attempts.
Historically, the Sun Devils have been close to unseating a higher ranked team than that of the No. 10 Gauchos, with one coming last weekend as No. 4 San Diego State hung on to defeat ASU, 6-5. Although the Sun Devils improved to just 1-15 all-time against opponents ranked in the Top 10, they have been in five games decided by one goal and two contests that have gone to overtime.
Another highly ranked foe awaits the Sun Devils Sunday as they travel to Westwood, Calif., for a 1 p.m. battle with No. 3 UCLA. Next weekend, ASU returns home for its final contest of the season in Tempe as it plays host to the No. 1 team in the nation, USC.