April 4, 2004
TEMPE, Ariz. - One day removed from its biggest upset in school history, the No. 18 Arizona State water polo could not improve upon that record as No. 3 UCLA handed the visiting Sun Devils a 13-5 loss in Mountain Pacific Sports Federation action Sunday in Los Angeles. ASU slipped to 9-13 on the season with a 2-7 mark in the conference while the Bruins improved to 15-3 overall and 5-1 in the MPSF.
The first quarter came to a close with the Sun Devils hanging with the defending NCAA champions as both teams netted two goals each. The Sun Devils jumped out to the early lead as Kimberlee Stevens (So., Lodi, Calif.) netted a goal at 4:47 before the Bruins tied the score at one with a goal at 3:12. Thirty-one seconds later, UCLA took the lead with a goal at 2:41 to surge ahead, 2-1. ASU came back with 1:25 remaining in the quarter as Katie Hedley (Fr., Lake Forest, Calif.) scored the first of her three goals on a 4-meter penalty shot to tie the score at two.
From there, the Bruins took the lead for good as they netted another three scores in the second quarter before the Sun Devils got another goal from Hedley, again on a 4-meter penalty shot, to cut the lead to 5-3. With 34 seconds remaining before the intermission, UCLA scored again to push the advantage to three goals at the break.
In the third quarter, the Bruin defense clamped down to hold the Sun Devils scoreless while adding another four goals. The fourth quarter saw the hosts leading 10-3 before Elaine Bentley (So., San Diego, Calif.) tallies at the 5:07 mark in the stanza to cut the lead in six. The Bruins, however, added three more scores before Hedley closed out the game with her third 4-meter penalty shot goal with 23 seconds remaining for the final score of 13-5.
In the goal, Jennifer Sanderson (Jr., Walnut Creek, Calif.) recorded two saves in three quarters of play before Elizabeth Houck (So., San Diego, Calif.) recorded a pair of stops in the fourth quarter.
The Sun Devils return to action next weekend with one game on the slate as ASU closes out its home season Saturday, April 10, when the No. 1 team in the nation, USC, comes to town. The Trojans and Sun Devils will meet at 1 p.m. at the Mona Plummer Aquatic Center in Tempe. The game also will mark the final home contest for senior Katie Davis (Sr., Riverside, Calif.) as she caps her stellar two seasons with the program.