IRVINE, Calif. -- The fifth-ranked Sun Devil Water Polo Team opened the 2017 Barbara Kalbus Invitational with an impressive, 9-5, win over Long Beach State at the UC Irvine Aquatic Center Friday afternoon.
Juniors Claudia Abad and Lena Mihailovic led the way for the Sun Devil offense, each recording three goals on the day. Maud Koopman, the leading scorer this season for the Sun Devils, added a pair of goals, while Alkistis Benekou netted one to round out the ASU Scoring effort.
The Sun Devils jumped out to an early 2-0 lead following the first period of play, as both Abad and Benekou found the back of the net in the first four minutes of play. ASU continued to press in the second quarter, but were only able to add one more goal, sending the game to halftime with ASU leading 3-0.
Following the break, Abad put the Sun Devils up 5-0 with a pair of goals, before the Beach were able to get on the board with two goals of their own in the final two minutes of play in the quarter.
The Sun Devils responded with three unanswered goals to begin the fourth, puting ASU up 8-2 with just over five minutes to play. The Beach fought back, however, firing in a pair of goals in the span of a minute, but the Sun Devil offense would add another score in the final two minutes of the contests to wrap up the Sun Devil victory.
In goal, Mia Rycraw locked the Beach down for the majority of the game, recording 13 saves on the day, including seven saves in the first half shutout.
The fifth-ranked Sun Devils will be back in action tomorrow morning with a 10:15 matchup against the fourth-ranked Cal Bears, who recorded a 13-6 victory over No. 17 San Jose State on Friday afternoon. Fans can follow the Sun Devils all season long by following @ASUWaterPolo on Twitter.
Juniors Claudia Abad and Lena Mihailovic led the way for the Sun Devil offense, each recording three goals on the day. Maud Koopman, the leading scorer this season for the Sun Devils, added a pair of goals, while Alkistis Benekou netted one to round out the ASU Scoring effort.
The Sun Devils jumped out to an early 2-0 lead following the first period of play, as both Abad and Benekou found the back of the net in the first four minutes of play. ASU continued to press in the second quarter, but were only able to add one more goal, sending the game to halftime with ASU leading 3-0.
Following the break, Abad put the Sun Devils up 5-0 with a pair of goals, before the Beach were able to get on the board with two goals of their own in the final two minutes of play in the quarter.
The Sun Devils responded with three unanswered goals to begin the fourth, puting ASU up 8-2 with just over five minutes to play. The Beach fought back, however, firing in a pair of goals in the span of a minute, but the Sun Devil offense would add another score in the final two minutes of the contests to wrap up the Sun Devil victory.
In goal, Mia Rycraw locked the Beach down for the majority of the game, recording 13 saves on the day, including seven saves in the first half shutout.
The fifth-ranked Sun Devils will be back in action tomorrow morning with a 10:15 matchup against the fourth-ranked Cal Bears, who recorded a 13-6 victory over No. 17 San Jose State on Friday afternoon. Fans can follow the Sun Devils all season long by following @ASUWaterPolo on Twitter.