April 26, 2007
TEMPE, Ariz. - In a back-and-forth game that featured nine lead changes and eight game-tying goals scored, the eighth-seeded Arizona State University water polo team ended up on the losing end of the score as ninth-seeded UC Irvine won a 13-12 decision in the opening round of the 2007 MPSF Water Polo Championship Thursday afternoon at the Mona Plummer Aquatic Center in Tempe. The Sun Devils, ranked 11th in the nation, slipped to 13-13 overall this year while the Anteaters, the nation's 10th-ranked squad, improved to 18-11.
ASU fell behind early, 1-0, before tying the game on a goal from Katie Hedley. After Jackie Prine scored her second of the quarter to put UCI back in front, Bonnie Chapman scored on the power-play to tie the game at two before Kim Buck scored with 1:29 remaining in the first stanza for a 3-2 Sun Devil lead. That lead was short-lived, however, as Prine scored her third in a row before Robyn Kaake scored to take the 4-3 lead. ASU responded with a pair of goals of its own as both Kelly Phelps and Katy Lawlor found the net for a 5-4 ASU lead.
After UCI tied the game at five, Hedley scored once again, but the Anteaters tied it again with 0:35 remaining. The Sun Devils took the lead into the intermission as Amanda Stepp scored with just 18 seconds left on the clock. Leading 7-6 through two quarters, Phelps added a goal to open the third before Lawlor and Chapman each scored their second goals of the contest for a 10-6 lead. UCI, however, would score the next four goals to tie the game, including one in the third and the first three of the fourth, for a 10-10 score.
Phelps scored her third of the game to put ASU on top (11-10) with 4:25 remaining in the game, but UCI scored three in a row to put the game away as ASU could only muster a goal from Stepp with 1:25 remaining before the game ended and UCI prevailed, 13-12.
Defensively, Caylinn Wallace recorded 11 saves, including five in the third quarter to help ASU build a lead, two of which came on breakaway attempts from the Anteaters. UCI's Lauren Machanis stopped 10 ASU shots in the win.
The Sun Devils will play at 9 a.m. on Saturday morning against the winner of Friday's first game between No. 12 UC Santa Barbara and #13 Pacific. The Anteaters will next face No. 1 Stanford at 11:20 a.m. Friday.
#9 UC Irvine defeats #8 Arizona State, 13-12
ASU Goals: Phelps 3, Chapman 2, Hedley 2, Lawlor 2, Stepp 2, Buck
UCI Goals: Kaake 4, Prine 3, Rossi 3, Fancher 2, Plummer
ASU Saves: Wallace 11
UCI Saves: Machanis 10
2007 MPSF Water Polo Championship
Mona Plummer Aquatic Center - Tempe
Day One Results (number preceding team is tournament seed)
Game 1 - #4 Hawaii def. #13 Pacific, 22-8
Game 2 - #5 San Diego State def. #12 UC Santa Barbara, 13-11
Game 3 - #6 San Jose State def. #11 CS Northridge, 12-9
Game 4 - #10 Long Beach State def. #7 California, 12-9
Game 5 - #9 UC Irvine def. #8 Arizona State, 13-12