March 24, 2012
TEMPE – The Arizona State University water polo team dropped its first home match of the year on Saturday, falling to #3 USC by a final score of 9-7.
Junior Shannon Haas scored a hat trick but it was not enough for the #4 Sun Devils (20-4, 2-2 MPSF) as Trojan goalkeeper Flora Bolonyai posted 11 second-half saves including two in the waning minutes to keep ASU from tying the game.
The Trojans improved the 14-3 on the season with the victory and moved to 3-1 in conference play.
USC jumped out to an early 3-1 lead in the first quarter but the Sun Devils were strong on the powerplay, scoring their first three goals in 6-on-5 situation to tie the game at 3 with 6:58 left in the second quarter.
The Sun Devils took their first lead of the game on a Haas goal just a minute later but USC came back with two of their own to jump ahead 5-4.
Haas netted her hat trick with 1:20 left in the quarter to tie the game at five heading into halftime.
In the third, the teams exchanged goals again as both scored two apiece in the frame to send the game into the fourth quarter.
In the final frame, Bolonyai cracked down and held the Sun Devils scoreless while Nadia Dan and Blair Moody added a goal a piece to put USC up 9-7 – a deficit the Sun Devils were unable to overcome.
The Sun Devils head to Palo Alto, Calif., next weekend on Saturday, March 31, where they face MPSF rival #2 Stanford.