TEMPE – The No. 4 Arizona State University water polo team will conclude its MPSF conference slate this weekend on the road as it heads to Los Angeles to do battle with second-ranked UCLA (20-3, 3-1 MPSF). The game will get underway at 3:30 p.m. PT at the Spieker Aquatics Center on Friday and will be broadcast live on Pac-12 Arizona/Los Angeles.
SCOUTING THE OPPOSITION
The Sun Devils have never beaten UCLA in Los Angeles and, in fact, are just 1-17 against the Bruins all-time. That said, a victory on the road would do wonders to solidify ASU’s chances to advance to the NCAA Championships as an at-large bid. Offensively, the Bruins are led by India Forster and Mackenzie Barr with 33 goals apiece. Devin Grab and Lizette Rozeboom have netted 32 and 30, respectively. UCLA is averaging over 12 goals a game, a number that will be put to the test against an ASU defense that has allowed just one double-digit scoring game this season.
On the defensive end, the Bruins are the second-ranked defense in the conference and are allowing just 5.13 goals per game to date. Amassing 211 steals throughout the season so far, the squad is led by O’Brien with 33 and Barr with 27. In the cage, freshman Carlee Kapana and senior Alex Musselman rank third and fourth in the MPSF, respectively, in saves per game. The rookie is averaging 9.39 saves and the veteran averaging 8.65.
FOLLOW THE ACTION
For the second time this season, the Pac-12 Network will provide a live broadcast of Friday’s action with the game being available on Pac-12 Arizona and Pac-12 Los Angeles. Fans are encouraged to check their local listings for availability in their area. Fans may also be able to view the game online, dependent on provider, at Pac-12.com/live. Greg Mescall and Adam Krikorian will be on the call.
As always, fans may follow @ASUWaterPolo on Twitter for updates throughout the afternoon.
TRACKING 300
With two victories last weekend in the Bay Area, ASU head coach Todd Clapper moved to 297-196 in his head coaching career and moved to within three games of his milestone 300th career victory. Clapper is 192-123 all-time as head coach of the Sun Devils (11th season) and is in his 17th year overall as a head coach.
LAST TIME OUT
The No. 5 Arizona State University water polo team continued its impressive run through the second half of the season, picking up two wins in a road doubleheader in the Bay Area. The Devils knocked off 11th-ranked MPSF foe San Jose State, 13-8, before easily taking care of business in a 15-3 victory over CSU Monterey Bay on Saturday. Maud Koopman scored three goals and added five assists in the opener against the Spartans before ASU let its reserves do the talking against the Otters as Taylor Bertrand led the way with four goals. With the victories, ASU moved to 17-5 on the season and 3-2 in MPSF play.
RECENT SUCCESS
The Sun Devils have established themselves as one of the elite teams in the country in the last couple years. Since 2012, the Sun Devils have compiled a 101-39 record under head coach Todd Clapper. In that time, the team has posted 14 All-America honors while earning the first victory over UCLA in program history, beating Cal on the road for the first time ever and matching a program best upset with a victory over second-ranked USC last season. ASU advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in program history in 2014, taking fifth overall with a victory over UC Irvine. The Sun Devils posted a program-best fourth-place finish in the MPSF Championships and CWPA Final Coaches Poll in 2013 (peaking at a program best No. 3 in the 2013 regular season) and set school records in wins in two of those seasons as well.
HOW NOW AO GAO
After taking a year off to focus on her scholarly journalism pursuits and an internship with the Crew West video production group, two-time Olympian and All-America Ao Gao will return to the Sun Devil Water Polo program for her fourth and final year of collegiate water polo while working toward her graduate degree in ASU’s Sports Journalism program. Gao brings a wealth of experience, having played in the Beijing Olympics in 2008 where she helped China to a fifth-place finish and was named a tournament All-Star for her effort. She would also go on to represent her home country at the 2012 London Olympics where the Chinese squad also took fifth. At ASU, Gao earned All-America honors as a two-meter defender during her sophomore and junior seasons.
Despite the year off, Gao has come back in without missing a step. She currently sits seventh in ASU history with 223 career points, fourth with 98 career assists and ninth all-time with 125 career goals. Her 126 career steals are sixth in ASU history. She has 40 points this season (good for second on the team) with 23 goals and 17 assists - also good for second on the Sun Devil roster - while she is the model of consistency in also posting 30 steals to date, just one off the team lead in the category.
DOWNTON ABBEY
Last season, Abbey Kerth quietly put up exceptional numbers as reserve at center behind All-American Alkistis Benekou. This season, Kerth has been leaned heavily upon to replace her as Benekou trains for the Olympics and a spot on the Greek National Team.
Kerth has since taking a huge leap in production as the team’s starting center. The senior is tied for fourth on the team with 23 goals this season and has drawn a whopping 59 exclusions - largely surpassing her 2015 total, 42 more than any other Sun Devil and nearly half of the 141 total kickouts drawn by ASU this season. It’s not always easy to get shots off at center, but when she’s been able to, she’s made opponents pay with her 23 goals coming on just 34 shots (67.6 percent) - the highest shot percentage on the team.
Kerth finished her junior season with 13 goals this season and while she may not have rack up the gaudy offensive numbers as Benekou, she drew 42 exclusions last season - just 11 fewer than Benekou for second on the roster. Kerth has 67 goals in her career, a total that ranks second on the team behind only Ao Gao’s 125 career goals.
DRIVING MISS DAISY
Senior Daisy Carter has been another player filling the offensive void left behind with the departures. Thus far in her senior campaign, Carter is second on the Sun Devils with 27 goals and is fourth on the squad with 37 points as well. A solid all-around player, Carter also has 27 steals to date and 17 kickouts drawn, totals good for third and second on the Sun Devils. Her efficiency has really set her apart as she has 27 goals on 57 shot attempts (47.3 percent), the third-best percentage amongst the team’s starters.
Carter was fifth on the team with 17 goals last season and now has 65 career goals to her credit while her 35 career assists are second on the roster only to two-time All-American Ao Gao’s 98.
SCORE-CHEK
Senior Katie Sverchek has made some of the most prominent gains of any player on the Sun Devil roster this season and coaches are praising her for taking her game play to a different level. With Ao Gao out last season, Sverchek switched from a utility player to a two-meter defender and put together a solid season in her new role, if not one with eye-popping statistics.
A more confident Sverchek has already stepped out of that mold however, and finds herself with 25 goals goals this season - third on the team - while she is third on the team with 38 overall points thanks to her 13 assists. The number is notable as her previous career high was 23 points in 2013. Sverchek set a career-best with five goals against No. 23 Marist this season, reaching the 50-career goal milestone in the process.
OH ME, OH MIA
One question mark entering the season was how the Sun Devils would fair in the goal with the graduation of three-time All-American E.B. Keeve. That question was answered with quickness as redshirt sophomore Mia Rycraw has been a brick wall in the cage.
Thus far, Rycraw has 214 saves and is averaging 11.2 saves per game - leading the MPSF in the former and second in the latter - to just 5.68 goals allowed per game (108 total). Twice this season, Rycraw has been named the MPSF Player of the Week and has been a workhorse for ASU, second in the MPSF with 76 quarters played. She has spearheaded an ASU defense that has allowed opponents to reach double digit goals in just one game this season and it’s not just the saves that have done it. Rycraw is third on the team this season with 29 steals.
Rycraw saw limited action last season, but made the most of it as she finished with 80 saves and just 49 goals against in 15 appearances (five starts).
WHAT A KOOP
Freshman Maud Koopman wasted no time introducing herself to world as she has established herself as one of the top newcomers in the nation this season. Koopman has 29 goals to date, leading the team, and she has added a team-leading 24 assists for 53 total points, a total that also leads the squad. A solid defender as well, Koopman is also first on the team with 31 steals to date.
The Dutch attacker has come on strong as the season has gone on, winning MPSF Newcomer of the Week in three of the last five weeks and having the best game of her career against #11 San Jose State, scoring three goals with a career-best five assists - tied for the second-highest single game total in ASU history.
WEARING MANY HATS
One player who has taken over some of the offensive burden left behind due to graduation and Olympic training is Lena Mihailovic. She is tied for fourth with 23 goals and has added 11 assists for 34 points to date. She’s also drawn 16 exclusions this season, a total that ranks third on the ASU roster while her 26 steals are fifth on the team.
As a freshman, Mihailovic arrived in Tempe approximately a week and a half before the first Sun Devil contest in 2015, but you wouldn’t be able to tell it by looking at the stat sheet. The youngster finished fourth on the team with 27 goals and second on the team with 19 assists for a grand total of 47 points. She was second on the team with 16 steals and fourth with 18 kickouts drawn and has shown to be an every day player that can get it done in all areas of the game. Mihailovic trained extensively with the Australian Junior National Team this past summer.
Mihailovic also made an appearance in the World University Games held in Gwangju, Korea this past July. Her penalty shoot out goal against Canada would help Australia take home a gold medal. She also appeared in FINA World Junior Water Polo Championships.
LOCKING DOWN
ASU opponents are averaging just 5.27 goals per game, two goals per game fewer than they averaged last season. The Devils held the three of the top four MPSF-leading offenses in Stanford, USC and San Jose State to well under their season averages, keeping all three teams in single digits (USC twice) despite the squads coming in averaging about well over 10 goals per game. ASU opponents have scored double digits just once this season and that lone instance came on a literal last-second goal in a 10-9 loss early this season. The total is notable as opponents had reached double digits against the Devils six times through 22 games last season. Exceptional goalkeeping and a team defense that is averaging 10.8 steals per game this season have paced the revamped defensive effort.
GETTING OFF TO A HOT START
The Devils have outscored the opposition 55-24 (+31) in the first quarter of games this season and hot starts have been ASU’s bread and butter as they are 13-0 when leading after the first quarter and 3-5 when trailing or tied.
Another area of improvement this year has been third quarter scoring. Last season ASU was outscored in the third quarter of games, 64-58 (-6). So far this year, ASU is outscoring opponents 55-28 (+27) in the third quarter of contests. In ASU’s Bay Area doubleheader sweep last weekend, ASU scored six goals in the second quarter in both games of the doubleheader. That was notable as ASU was outscoring opponents by just a +10 margin on the season in the second quarter, balooning that to +19 (54-35) with just two games.
ASU did much of its damage in the first half last season, outscoring the opposition 58-34 (+24) in the first quarter and 69-49 (+20) in the second quarter. The numbers are a far cry from the second half where ASU trailed 64-58 in third quarter scoring and held only a +22 overall second half scoring advantage compared to its +44 first-half scoring edge. Getting ahead early was key for the Devils in 2015, as they were 12-0 when leading after the first quarter last season and 16-1 when leading at halftime. ASU was 0-5 when getting outscored in the first quarter and 0-8 when trailing or tied at half time.
TAKING ADVANTAGE OF THE MAN ADVANTAGE
Much like the game of hockey, water polo provides teams with a great opportunity with the exclusion rule for hard penalties and the Sun Devils did a good job last season of taking advantage of the situation in 6-on-5 advantages while limited opponents in their own chances. ASU has scored 47 goals on 133 6-on-5 advantages (35.3 percent). While ASU would certainly like to get more done on the offensive end in those situations, they have been exceptional when down a player. The Devils have held the opposition to just 34 goals on 119 chances (28.6 percent) when in 5-on-6 situations.
ASU outscored the opposition 67-35 last season in 6v5 goals and limited opponents to just 27 percent scoring in those situations (35 129 chances).
CLUTCH PERFORMERS
In head coach Todd Clapper’s career, he is 35-28 in all games decided by a single goal and 62-57 in all games decided by three goals or fewer. Since 2012, the Sun Devils are 31-22 in games decided by three goals or fewer and 17-10 in games decided by only a single goal. In 2013, ASU was 5-0 in games decided by a goal but dropped to a 1-4 mark in such games during the 2015 campaign and will look to get back to the clutch finishes it had become accustomed to this season, currently at 3-2 in one-goal games.
#NEXTMANUP
The Sun Devils lost four All-Americans to either graduation or Olympic training following last season and put a sizeable dent in the returning statistics as a result. Izabella Chiappini (56 goals), Alkistis Benekou (41 goals) and Petra Pardi (37 goals) made up 53.8 percent of ASU’s 249 total goals last season. Three-time All-American E.B. Keeve started 20 games and finished with 239 saves in 2015 and 936 career saves - good for second in ASU history despite playing just three seasons - and the ASU will have to find a way to fill in the void left by that exodus. Fortunately, the pieces are in place.
WHO’S THE NEW GIRL?
Well, take your pick. The Sun Devil roster features seven freshmen and just three players that started regularly last season. With plenty of new faces in the pool, a couple to keep an immediate eye on are Maud Koopman, Rosie Huck and PJ Allin. Koopman brings plenty of international experience with her and is game-ready right out of the box. Koopman competed on the Dutch Youth and Junior National teams that competed in 2014 at the Youth World Championships and the European Championships. Koopman will take over as a weakside attaker, allowing Lena Mihailovic to move to a more comfortable strong side location. Huck, a freshman out of Great Britain, will come in and look to back up Kerth at center. Huck spent the last year competing with the Great Britain National Team and was the youngest player on the roster at the 2014 European Water Polo Championships in Budapest. Allin, out of British Columbia, is a competent left hander that can fill some of the void left behind by Petra Pardi’s graduation. Allin was a member of the 2013 Canadian U16 National team and captained her team in the Cadet National Club Championships in 2012.
LOOKIN’ BACK - 2015 SEASON
Seven members from the Arizona State University water polo team have earned recognition from the Association of Collegiate Water Polo Coaches for the 2014-15 campaign, with three nabbing All-America team honors and four achieving academic excellence in a season where the Sun Devils compiled a 16-10 overall record. Looking for the team’s second berth in the NCAA Tournament, the Sun Devils dropped six of their last seven games after a 15-4 start to the year and had their postseason dreams undone with an 0-2 finish at the MPSF Championships, both losses (to No. 4 Cal and No. 9 SJSU) coming by just a single goal.
Sophomore attacker Izabella Chiappini earned her first All-America selection with Third-Team honors while fellow sophomores E.B. Keeve and Alkistis Benekou received Honorable Mention nods. Chiappini played an impactful role on the Sun Devil squad, netting 56 goals and 23 assists on the year. She topped the team with 79 total points and 26 steals, helping her earn her first All-MPSF distinction as well. For Keeve, this is her third consecutive year nabbing an All-American title. Keeve logged 239 total saves and averaged 12.75 saves per game as netminder for the Sun Devils this past season. Benekou is also no stranger to the All-American team earning her second Honorable Mention. As a commanding center, Benekou led the team in exclusions drawn with 54 and finished with 41 goals on the season.
Like Chiappini, both Keeve and Benekou received All-MPSF honors. Chiappini’s selection made her the 14th Sun Devil in program history to be named to an All-America team. With three selections, ASU placed three or more student-athletes on the All-America team for the fifth consecutive season. Since 2011, the Sun Devils have posted 17 All-American honors compared to just 10 total in its history prior to the current run.