TEMPE?? The No. 6 Arizona State University water polo team rode the impressive net-minding of Mia Rycraw and took advantage of its chances on offense to sweep the No. 14 Indiana Hoosiers in the 2016 season-opening doubleheader at the Mona Plummer Aquatic Center in Tempe.
The Sun Devils took victories of 10-5 and 13-8 against the 2015 CWPA Conference Co-Champions and did so behind a combination of impressive defense and finding the back of the net on the other end when they had their chances.
Rycraw finished with 31 saves in two games and allowed just 13 goals (.705 save percentage), stopped a penalty shot, had three steals and added an assist for measure in an impressive debut in her first season as the ace goalkeeper for the Sun Devils.
True freshman Maud Koopman had five goals over the two games while Katie Sverchek added four goals, notable as she had eight in the entirety of the 2015 season. Abbey Kerth also added four goals for the Sun Devils as she takes over the reins as the team’s starting center this season. Ao Gao led the way with six assists on the day while Koopman also paced the defense with five steals.
The Sun Devils will return to action tomorrow at 9 a.m. and 1 p.m. MT for an exhibition doubleheader against the Hoosiers.
Full recaps from the day’s action can be found below.
ASU 13, Indiana 8
The No. 6 Arizona State water polo team capped off the doubleheader with a 13-8 victory over No. 14 Indiana in the home opening series Saturday at the Mona Plummer Aquatic Center.
Freshman attacker Maud Koopman built upon her first career goal from game one, netting a hat trick plus one in her second performance as a Sun Devil.? She would also nab two steals to contribute to the back end of the pool and added an assist to stuff the stat sheet.
Mia Rycraw followed her 16-save performance from the first game with 15 in the second game ? including a penalty shot save ? and added a career-best three steals in the process as well, leading a 12-steal total effort by the Sun Devil roster. She also added her first career assist on a beautiful pool-length pass leading to a fast-break goal by Koopman on the other end.
Rycraw’s efforts helped keep the Hoosier offense to eight goals on 27 shots (29.6 percent) while the Devils capitalized on their opportunities to the tune of 13-of-25 shooting (52 percent).
Like game one, an opportunistic offense and stifling defense helped the Sun Devils to a 6-2 advantage in the first half. But, like the morning game, the Hoosier offense came alive a bit in the second half with six goals. That said, the ASU offense did its part late in the game with seven goals of its own.
Katie Sverchek provided the early offensive spark, scoring the first two goals of the game, the second coming on a beautiful floater from deep as the shot clock expired.
That would help pave the way for Koopman’s offensive eruption as she scored three of the next five ASU goals.
ASU looked primed to blow the lid off the game with third quarter goals from Daisy Carter and PJ Allin putting the Sun Devils up 10-3, but three straight Hoosier goals made it a 10-6 ball game until Ao Gao stopped the bleeding with her second goal of the game with 6:37 left in the fourth quarter.
Abbey Kerth also added two goals for the Sun Devils, her second one a physical individual effort from center to give ASU it’s final 13-8 advantage with 2:18 remaining. Taylor Bertrand also scored for the Sun Devils.
BOX SCORE
ASU ? 3-3-4-3=13
IU ? 0-2-2-4=8
GOALS
ASU ? Koopman 4, Sverchek 2, Gao 2, Kerth 2, Bertrand, Carter, Allin
IU ? Pipkin 3, Scroeder 2, Beadle , Matthews , Kozokar
ASSISTS
ASU ? Huck 2, Allin, Carter, Koopman, Gao, Kerth, Rycraw
IU ? Albright 2, Elwood, Kozokar, Young
SAVES
ASU ? Rycraw 15
IU ? Campbell 8
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ASU 10, Indiana 5?
Mia Rycraw had a career-high 16 saves and the No. 6 Arizona State University water polo team rolled to a 6-0 halftime advantage en route to a 10-5 victory over No. 14 Indiana in the season opener on Saturday at the Mona Plummer Aquatic Center.
Ao Gao had a career-high five assists in her first game in a Sun Devil uniform in a year and a half while three Sun Devils scored multiple goals in a contest that saw ASU get the job done on both ends of the pool.
Rycraw, in her first season as ASU’s ace in the cage, paced the team early and had a beat on every shot coming her way early as she stopped nine shots in the first half. ASU was opportunistic on the other end of the pool as the Devils jumped to a commanding 6-0 lead after two quarters .
Rycraw’s effort, combined with a solid Sun Devil defense, helped hold the Hoosiers ? last year’s CWPA conference co-champion ? to just five goals on 36 shots (13.9 percent) and 0-for-5 on the power play.
Conversely, the Devils netted three goals on seven 6-on-5 situations (42.9 percent) and played aggressive defense without fouling, paced by freshman Maud Koopman’s three steals.
Lena Mihailovic got the ASU offense going early, netting the first goal of the game and assisting on the second before the Sun Devils added three goals in a four-minute span late in the first and into the second quarter.
Abbey Kerth netted back-to-back goals after freshman Rosie Huck’s first career goal to give ASU a 6-0 lead heading into halftime and Katie Sverchek found the back of the net for her first of two second half goals to give ASU a 7-0 lead early in the third quarter.
The Hoosiers finally broke through Rycraw’s stalwart defense on Kelly Matthews’ goal with 6:52 left in the third quarter and the team’s exchanged goals throughout the rest of the contest, making the final score look a bit closer than the game actually panned out. ASU finished with 10 goals on 28 shots (35.7 percent).
Daisy Carter also added two goals while Kayla Casas also scored for the Sun Devils and Koopman added her first career goal. Meanwhile, it was Gao running point for the Sun Devils as she assisted on half of the team’s goals in a valiant return to the pool for the two-time senior All-American.
BOX SCORE
ASU ? 4-2-2-2=10
IU ? 0-0-2-3=5
GOALS
ASU ? Sverchek 2, Kerth 2, Carter 2, Huck, Casas, Koopman,?Mihailovic
IU ? Matthews 2, Elwood, Kozokar, Young
ASSISTS
ASU ? Gao 5, Mihailovic 2, Koopman, Sverchek, Allin
IU ? Albright 2, Myers 2, Elwood
SAVES
ASU ? Rycraw 16
IU ? Campbell 10?