April 27, 2006
IRVINE, Calif. - The No. 9 Arizona State University water polo team made history on two fronts Thursday in the opening round of the MPSF Championships as the Sun Devils defeated No. 11 Long Beach State, 8-6, at the Anteater Aquatic Complex in Irvine, Calif. The victory over the Beach was the first for the Sun Devils (14-11, 5-7 MPSF) over the 49ers in eight attempts and also marked the first time the Sun Devils have opened the MPSF event with a victory after dropping their openers each of the last two years.
The first quarter opened with the 49ers taking an early 1-0 lead as #4 scored on the power play just 38 seconds into the contest. The Sun Devils struck back with 3:45 showing on the quarter clock with Rowie Webster scoring on the power play with a skip shot into the corner. The Beach came back, however with Campbell scoring with 40 seconds remaining for the 2-1 lead. LBSU almost made it a two-goal lead as a shot with one second remaining, but Caylinn Wallace came up big with the save.
The second stanza did not get off to the type of start the Sun Devils had hoped as the 49ers struck for two more goals to take a 4-1 lead with just 1:20 removed from the clock. But the Sun Devils, with Katy Lawlor making solid contributions, came through and scored three straight to close out the half for a 4-4 tie at the intermission. With 3:16 remaining, Lawlor went on a counter-attack with Lawlor collecting the ball and finding a wide open Webster for the goal.
Less than one minute later, Lawlor collected the ball and found a wide-open Tessa Wyborny open in front of the net where she scored for a 4-3 score. Then, with 20 seconds remaining in the half, the Sun Devil drew an ejection. Addison Doud restarted the play by passing inside to Lawlor, who turned and fired from point-blank range to tie the score at four each.
Following the intermission, the Beach struck back to reclaim the lead with 4:50 remaining, scoring on the power-play for a 5-4 lead. LBSU looked for a two-goal advantage again and attempted a 4-meter penalty shot, but Wallace came up with a huge save on the attempt. The Sun Devils countered down the pool and Webster closed in on the right side of the goal. After drawing the defense out, she found Doud wide-open on the back post for the equalizer.
For the fourth quarter in a row, the Beach recaptured the lead as they scored on a power-play attempt with 4:08 remaining. Prior to the goal, Webster was called for her third ejection of the game, leaving ASU without its top goal scorer for the remainder for the contest. Despite the deficit, the Sun Devils stormed back with Lawlor's second goal of the game as she scored on a backhand shot at 3:54. Lawlor gave ASU the lead for good at 2:04 when she collected the ball at center, turned and fired for the goal. Then, with 1:13 remaining, Doud lobbed a floater into the back corner for the 8-6 final.
The Sun Devils now advance to the quarterfinals Friday as they face No. 3 seed UCLA at 1:45 p.m.
ASU defeats Long Beach State, 8-6
ASU Goals: Katy Lawlor 3, Rowie Webster 2, Addison Doud, Tessa Wyborny
ASU Saves: Caylinn Wallace 7 (includes one on 4-meter penalty attempt)