IRVINE, Calif. – The No. 7 Sun Devil water polo team split a pair of games on Saturday on the opening day of the UCI Invitational in Irvine, Calif. The Devils dropped a tough 5-4 decision to No. 9 UC Irvine before taking down No. 25 CSUN in the second game of the day.
Mia Rycraw was exceptional in the cage on the afternoon, stopping 26 shots across the two games while Katie Sverchek had two goals and three assists to lead the offensive effort.
ASU will take on the winner of the LMU-UC San Diego game tomorrow at 9 a.m. Arizona time.
#7 ASU, #25 CSUN
The Sun Devils ended a three-game losing streak with another dominant defensive effort and an 8-4 victory over No. 25 CSUN on Saturday afternoon in the consolation bracket of the UCI Invitational.
Mia Rycraw stopped 11 shots in the cage while seven different Sun Devils got on the scorecard in an exceptional all-around effort.
The Sun Devils jumped out to an early 3-0 lead in the contest and led from wire-to-wire, closing out the game on a 3-1 run after the Matadors cut the lead to 5-3 and then 6-4 in the third quarter.
ASU dropped the hammer in the fourth quarter, holding CSUN scoreless as Abbey Kerth scored her second of the game and Kayla Casas added a goal to pull away.
Maud Koopman, Lena Mihailovic, Stephanie Contreras, Ao Gao and Taylor Bertrand also added goals for the Sun Devils while Katie Sverchek dished out the dimes with a team-high three assists.
Casas and Koopman helped an impressive defensive effort with three steals each while ASU as a team combined for an incredible 16 steals in the game – a season high.
BOX SCORE
ASU- 3-1-2-2=8
UCI- 1-0-3-0=4
GOALS
Kerth 2, Casas, Koopman, Mihailovic, Contreras, Gao, Bertrand
ASSISTS
Sverchek 3, Bertrand 2, Huck, Koopman, Gao
SAVES
Rycraw 11
#9 UC Irvine 5, #7 ASU 4
Another solid defensive effort for the Sun Devils was undone by ASU’s inability to get much going on the offensive end in a tough 5-4 loss to No. 9 UC Irvine in the opening game of the UCI Invitational.
Mia Rycraw had 15 stops in the cage for the Sun Devils and the ASU defense held Irvine to just 1-of-4 scoring on the power play. Unfortunately, that lone 6-on-5 goal would prove to be the difference in the contest as Mary Brooks found the back of the net with 2:13 remaining in the game to five UCI a 5-3 advantage.
ASU went just 1-for-5 in 6-on-5 situations with the lone goal coming on Katie Sverchek’s penalty shot in the third quarter.
Abbey Kerth brought the Sun Devils back within one with 1:29 left but the Sun Devils couldn’t find the equalizer before time ran out.
Sverchek had two goals including the penalty shot to lead the ASU offense. Maud Koopman had ASU’s other goal in the contest.
BOX SCORE
ASU- 0-1-1-2=4
UCI- 1-1-1-2=5
GOALS
Sverchek 2, Koopman, Kerth
ASSISTS
Carter, Mihailovic
SAVES
Rycraw 15