TEMPE, Ariz.-- The sixth-ranked Arizona State water polo team will travel to Bakersfield, Calif., to compete in the 2017 Roadrunner Invitational hosted by CSUB March 18 and 19 at the John S. Hillman Memorial Aquatic Center.
"This is our last multi-game weekend before the conference championship," said head coach Todd Clapper. "This has been great from an experience standpoint, but I think everyone is a little excited to be able to take a week to dissect one team. To this point we have been working a lot on ourselves, I think we have spent a little more time getting ourselves where we need to be. This weekend we have some challenging opponents. We have got to be prepared for this weekend."
The Sun Devils (14-4) will begin the weekend with a noon meeting against host No. 22 CSU Bakersfield Saturday, before closing day one with a 5:15 p.m. tilt against No. 11 Princeton. ASU will complete the weekend with a 9 a.m. matchup against Cal State East Bay Sunday.
WHO IS IN THE POOL?
No. CSU Bakersfield:
The Roadrunners enter the weekend with an 11-10 overall-record on the season, including an 0-3 record in MPSF play. In their last time out, the Roadrunners posted a 3-1 last week. CSUB defeated Azusa Pacific (11-8) Wednesday before losing to No. 3 UCLA 17-4 on Saturday. Nicola Barrett recorded a hat trick in both CSUB water polo matches Sunday as the No. 23 Roadrunners defeated Chapman and No. 17 Wagner at the San Diego State Aztec Invitational. In the cage, CUSB has been anchored by senior goalie Courtney Wahlstrom who became the all-time saves leader at CSUB last weekend. She enters this week's play with 828 career saves.
Princeton:
Princeton is 11-0 on the season, the team's third best start in program history, with six of those victories coming against ranked opponents. The Tigers have given up five goals or less in eight of their 11 games this year. Chelsea Johnson and Amy Castellano lead the Tigers with 20 goals each. Johnson and Wan pace the Princeton offense with 29 points each while Eliza Britt's 15 assists tops the team. Ashleigh Johnson is 10-0 on the season with 101 saves. She has allowed 33 goals in 211 minutes. The weekend slate for the Tigers will be the toughest strech this season, as they will begin the weekend with a pair of top-15 teams, the highest ranked opponents this season for Princeton.
Cal State East Bay:
The Pioneers enter the weekend winners of six of their last seven games and boasting a 9-6 record on the season. In their last outing, Cal State East Bay fell to visiting Santa Clara University by a final score of 11-7. Senior Brandi Carroll led the way with two goal for the Pioneers, who had their six-game win streak snapped with the loss. CSUEB drops to 9-6 for the season. Senior Nikki Vaughn played the first three quarters in the cage and tallied eight saves in the defeat, before Makenna Nation entered to close out the contest.
GREAT WALL OF MIA
Junior goalie Mia Rycraw has been completely dominant in the cage, again, this season So far this season, the Junior has recorded 186 saves on the year, including 33 saves last week at the 2017 ASU Invitational. Rycraw currently holds the three of the top-5 spots in the MPSF's single-game saves high this season, including an 18 save outing against UCI last weekend that ranks first in the league.
GOLDEN GOALS
The Sun Devils have not struggled offensively this season, netting 186 goals this season already. The Sun Devils have been led by junior Lena Mihailovic, who has already netted 33 goals this season. Trailing by just two goals is Alkistis Benekou with 31, followed by Maud Koopman with 29 to round out the top-three. Entering this weekend's games, ASU has outscored their opponents 186-104.
WHAT'S NEXT?
Following this weekend's slate of games, the Sun Devils will resume MPSF play with a March 25th matchup against No. 4 California.
"This is our last multi-game weekend before the conference championship," said head coach Todd Clapper. "This has been great from an experience standpoint, but I think everyone is a little excited to be able to take a week to dissect one team. To this point we have been working a lot on ourselves, I think we have spent a little more time getting ourselves where we need to be. This weekend we have some challenging opponents. We have got to be prepared for this weekend."
The Sun Devils (14-4) will begin the weekend with a noon meeting against host No. 22 CSU Bakersfield Saturday, before closing day one with a 5:15 p.m. tilt against No. 11 Princeton. ASU will complete the weekend with a 9 a.m. matchup against Cal State East Bay Sunday.
WHO IS IN THE POOL?
No. CSU Bakersfield:
The Roadrunners enter the weekend with an 11-10 overall-record on the season, including an 0-3 record in MPSF play. In their last time out, the Roadrunners posted a 3-1 last week. CSUB defeated Azusa Pacific (11-8) Wednesday before losing to No. 3 UCLA 17-4 on Saturday. Nicola Barrett recorded a hat trick in both CSUB water polo matches Sunday as the No. 23 Roadrunners defeated Chapman and No. 17 Wagner at the San Diego State Aztec Invitational. In the cage, CUSB has been anchored by senior goalie Courtney Wahlstrom who became the all-time saves leader at CSUB last weekend. She enters this week's play with 828 career saves.
Princeton:
Princeton is 11-0 on the season, the team's third best start in program history, with six of those victories coming against ranked opponents. The Tigers have given up five goals or less in eight of their 11 games this year. Chelsea Johnson and Amy Castellano lead the Tigers with 20 goals each. Johnson and Wan pace the Princeton offense with 29 points each while Eliza Britt's 15 assists tops the team. Ashleigh Johnson is 10-0 on the season with 101 saves. She has allowed 33 goals in 211 minutes. The weekend slate for the Tigers will be the toughest strech this season, as they will begin the weekend with a pair of top-15 teams, the highest ranked opponents this season for Princeton.
Cal State East Bay:
The Pioneers enter the weekend winners of six of their last seven games and boasting a 9-6 record on the season. In their last outing, Cal State East Bay fell to visiting Santa Clara University by a final score of 11-7. Senior Brandi Carroll led the way with two goal for the Pioneers, who had their six-game win streak snapped with the loss. CSUEB drops to 9-6 for the season. Senior Nikki Vaughn played the first three quarters in the cage and tallied eight saves in the defeat, before Makenna Nation entered to close out the contest.
GREAT WALL OF MIA
Junior goalie Mia Rycraw has been completely dominant in the cage, again, this season So far this season, the Junior has recorded 186 saves on the year, including 33 saves last week at the 2017 ASU Invitational. Rycraw currently holds the three of the top-5 spots in the MPSF's single-game saves high this season, including an 18 save outing against UCI last weekend that ranks first in the league.
GOLDEN GOALS
The Sun Devils have not struggled offensively this season, netting 186 goals this season already. The Sun Devils have been led by junior Lena Mihailovic, who has already netted 33 goals this season. Trailing by just two goals is Alkistis Benekou with 31, followed by Maud Koopman with 29 to round out the top-three. Entering this weekend's games, ASU has outscored their opponents 186-104.
WHAT'S NEXT?
Following this weekend's slate of games, the Sun Devils will resume MPSF play with a March 25th matchup against No. 4 California.