IRVINE, Calif. – The No. Arizona State University water polo team split a pair of games on the opening day of the 2015 UC Irvine Invitiational, defeating No. 10 San Diego State, 6-3, before falling to No. 3 USC, 14-4 in the quarter finals
The Sun Devils will take on No. 7 Hawai'i tomorrow in the consolation bracket, with a scheduled opening whistle at 10:15 a.m. MT.
Complete recaps of the day's action can be found below.
Arizona State 6, San Diego State 3
Alkistis Benekou scored two goals and outdueled her sister as the Sun Devil water polo team took down No. 10 San Diego State in the opener of the 2015 UC Irvine Invitational.
It was a low-scoring affair that saw the Sun Devil defense dominate, holding the Aztecs scoreless in the second and third quarters while building 6-1 lead to easily hold of two SDSU fourth-quarter goals.
Benekou had her team-leading sixth multi-goal game with her two goals in a contest that pitted her up against her sister, Ioli, who led the Aztecs with two goals in the contest.
Mia Rycraw got the start at goalie for the Devils, stopping 11 shots in a complete game of action. Rycraw also helped the squad’s defensive efforts with a team-leading three steals in the contest.
Lena Mihailovic, Izabella Chiappini, Claudia Abad and Petra Pardi also scored goals for the Sun Devils. The three goals allowed by ASU were the fewest by a ranked opponent against the Sun Devils this season and the second-fewest in a game overall outside of ASU’s 16-2 victory over Sonoma State.
|
Box Score |
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
F |
|
ASU |
1 |
3 |
2 |
0 |
6 |
|
SDSU |
1 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
3 |
ASU goals: Benekou (2), Pardi, Abad, Chiappini, Mihailovic
SDSU goals: Benekou (2), Carballo
Saves: Rycraw (ASU) - 11; Mitchell (SDSU) - 3
Arizona State 4, USC 14
The Sun Devils suffered their worst loss of the season in the quarterfinals of the 2015 UCI Invitational, dropping a 14-4 contest to third-ranked USC on Saturday evening in Irvine, Calif.
Mia Rycraw had a career-high 13 saves in the contest but it wasn't enough for a Sun Devil club that failed to muster much offense in the contest.
Katie Sverchek, Izabella Chiappini, Claudia Abad and Abbey Kerth all scored for ASU.
With the loss, ASU fell to the consolation bracket and will take on No. 7 Hawai'i tomorrow at 10:15 a.m.
| Box Score | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | F |
| USC | 4 | 6 | 4 | 0 | 14 |
| ASU | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 4 |
USC goals: Vavic (3), Bergesen (2), McKelvey (2), Stiefel (2), DaBoub, Daube, Appel, I. Haralabidis, Blubaugh
ASU goals: Sverchek, Chiappini, Abad, Keith
Saves: Chamorro (USC) - 8; Rycraw (ASU) - 13