PALO ALTO – The No. 6 Arizona State University water polo team dropped its MPSF road opener on Saturday, an 8-5 decision to third-ranked Stanford in Palo Alto, Calif.
Lena Mihailovic and Maud Koopman scored two late goals for the Devils (14-5, 1-2 MPSF) but the effort wan’t enough to overcome a 7-2 deficit through the third quarter.
Mia Rycraw stopped eight shots and had three steals to lead a solid defensive effort from the Sun Devils, who held Stanford under 10 goals for just the third time this season and well under their season average of over 13 goals per game. Maud Koopman added a career-best four steals in addition to her two goals.
ASU was undone on the power play, allowing the Cardinal to go 3-for-5 with a man advantage in including a penalty shot goal while the Devils managed just one goal on five power play chances.
Abbey Kerth tied things up early in the second quarter at 1-1 with her goal from center, but Stanford closed out the half on a 3-0 run including two exclusion goals to take a 4-1 advantage into the half.
The Cardinal continued to roll in the second half, outscoring ASU 3-1 in the third quarter to effectively put the game out of reach despite the Sun Devils closing the game with three straight goals.
The Devils return to action at home for another MPSF tilt against a top-10 Cal program in Tempe on Saturday, April 2 at 12 p.m. PT.