April 1, 2007
Score Sheets: vs. Michigan | vs. San Diego State
TEMPE, Ariz. - The No. 11 Arizona State University water polo team won a pair of close games, including an 8-7 upset of No. 5 San Diego State, Sunday to push its win streak to four in a row while capturing the ASU Invitational held over the weekend at the Mona Plummer Aquatic Center in Tempe. The Sun Devils, who also defeated No. 18 Michigan, 5-4, earlier in the day, improved to 9-10 overall on the year.
In the second game of the day, the Sun Devils met the Aztecs in the tournament championship game after both squads won their semifinal games earlier in the morning. SDSU jumped out to an early 1-0 lead with a goal from Elana Cervantes just 1:14 into the game, but Addison Doud scored for the Sun Devils 21 seconds later to tie the game at one. The Sun Devils took their first lead less than one minute later as Kelly Phelps hit on an outside shot, but the Aztecs responded with a goal of their own at the 3:16 mark. But, just 19 seconds later, the Sun Devils reclaimed the lead as Ali Gronow scored on the advantage for a 3-2 lead.
SDSU tied the game to open the second quarter and took the lead at the 4:48 mark on a Jenna Schuster goal. With six seconds remaining in the half, the sun Devils got a goal from Katy Lawlor to send the game to the intermission tied at four. From there, the back-and-forth game was on with the Sun Devils taking the first step each time, with the only difference being a 3-2 advantage in goals in the third quarter.
After SDSU tied the game at the 1:16 mark on Schuster's third goal of the contest, the Sun Devils battled back with a wide-open Bonnie Chapman collecting a pass in front of the net and sending in the winning goal with 40 seconds remaining in the game. The Aztecs had a chance to answer, but Ashley Bower stole the ball with 25 seconds remaining to seal the victory for the Sun Devils' first win over a Top 5 foe this season (1-5) and halt the Aztecs' 14-game winning streak.
In the opener for the Sun Devils, ASU won a close game against the Wolverines, 5-4. Similar to the ASU-SDSU game, UM took an early lead on a Julie Hyrne goal, but the Sun Devils tied the score with a goal from Kelly Phelps at 6:14. The Wolverines responded with a goal from Shana Welch at the 4:00 mark, but, once again, the Sun Devils answered with a goal from Katie Hedley with 1:17 remaining.
The Wolverines reclaimed the lead with a goal from Mary Chatigny and then added to it with another Welch goal, but, with 40 seconds remaining in the half, the Sun Devils cut the deficit to one with a goal from Doud. Following the intermission, the Sun Devils copied the Wolverines as they scored a pair of goals to tie and reclaim the lead. Lawlor scored to tie the game before Lindsay Williams found the back of the net with 1:33 remaining in the third stanza. Neither team scored in the fourth, giving the Sun Devils the victory on Williams' score.
Overall, Caylinn Wallace had a solid day in the cage as she recorded nine saves against UM before halting 12 shots in the upset over SDSU. All told, eight different Sun Devils scored on the day, including both Doud and Phelps, who recorded three goals to lead the way. Also scoring multiple goals on the day was Lawlor with two.
The Sun Devils will return to the road next weekend for a pair of games in MPSF action, first taking on Pacific at 4 p.m. Saturday at Delta College before closing the trip with a noon contest at No. 4 California.
Final Day Results - ASU Invitational
Game #7 - San Diego State defeated UC Santa Barbara, 7-6
Game #8 - Arizona State defeated Michigan, 5-4
Game #9 - Cal Baptist defeated Redlands, 7-6
Game #10 - UC Santa Barbara defeated Michigan, 9-7
Game #11 - Arizona State defeated San Diego State, 8-7
Final Placements
1st - Arizona State
2nd - San Diego State
3rd - UC Santa Barbara
4th - Michigan
5th - Cal Baptist
6th - Redlands