TEMPE, Ariz. – The No. 6 Sun Devil Water Polo kicked off the annual ASU Invitational with a 12-2 victory over T-No. 13 Indiana at Mona Plummer Aquatic Center Saturday morning.
The win represents the Sun Devils 11 over a team currently ranked in the CWPA Top 25 rankings. This the second time ASU has defeated Indiana this season, outscoring the Hoosiers 22-5 over two matches. The Sun Devils defense allowed a season-low two goals which represented the lowest total scored by Indiana this season.
Mia Rycraw looked sharp early and often in the match, as she stifled the Indiana attack on her way to a season-high 16 saves. The offense was led by Alkistis Benekou and Bente Rogge, who both recorded hat tricks in the victory. Amira Van Buren finished with a pair of goals, giving her the first multi-goal game of her career.
After a first period controlled by both defenses, the Sun Devils offense broke out in the second period with four goals to take a 4-0 lead on the Hoosiers going into halftime. Arizona State would dominate the second half, holding Indiana scoreless until the 2:14 was left in the game.
The first eight minutes would remain scoreless, as Mia Rycraw was spectacular in net. She displayed her tremendous athleticism on several highlight-reel saves to keep the game scoreless after one.
Bente Rogge would open up the scoring for the Sun Devils in the second period, tallying a goal at the 6:58 mark to give the Sun Devils a 1-0 lead. The floodgates would open offensively from that point on, as Arizona State established confidence offensively leading to several prime scoring chances. ASU would score three goals over the final 3:21 of the half to enter the break with a 4-0 lead. Alkistis Benekou's goal was the first of the aforementioned goals, followed by Lena Mihailovic and eventually Amira Van Buren, who now has goals in consecutive games.
The Sun Devils would go on to outscore the Hoosiers, 4-0, in the third period to extend their lead to 8-0. Alkistis Benekou and Bente Rogge both scored their second goals of the match early in the period to get ASU off to a strong start in the second half. With 3:42 left in the third, Benekou recorded her third goal to give her the fourth hat trick of the season. Less than a minute later, Maud Koopman joined in on the scoring action, beating the Hoosier goaltender with a perfectly placed shot to provide the Sun Devils with an 8-0 lead at the end of three.
Mia Rycraw continued to play terrific in net into the fourth period, as she prevented Indiana from scoring until the 2:14 mark in the contest. Before the Hoosiers scored their goals, Alkistis Benekou and Bente Rogge were not done finding the back of the net. Benekou tallied her fourth while Rogge recorded her third to give the Sun Devils a 10-0 lead. Julia Reyes, who has goals in five of her last six games, scored her first of the match to extend the lead to 11-0. After Indiana finally got on the scoreboard late in the match, Amira Van Buren would respond less than 30 seconds later beating the goaltender with a rocket of a shot. ASU would go on to win the contest by a score of 12-2.
This was the first of three matches that the Sun Devils will compete in today as part of the ASU Invitational. Later today, ASU will match up with No. 25 Fresno State at 3:45 P.M. MST at Mona Plummer Aquatic Center. To finish up the first day of the ASU Invitational, ASU will face off against 2017 NCAA Tournament Participant Pomona-Pitzer scheduled for 5:00 P.M. MST but will take place approximately 30 minutes after the conclusion of the 3:45 P.M. match. Join us at Mona Plummer Aquatic Center as admission is free all weekend. Visit our website for more updates and follow our social media accounts all season long for content.
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Twitter: @SunDevilWP | Facebook: Sun Devil Water Polo | Instagram: @SunDevilWaterPolo
Goals: Benekou (4), Rogge (3), Van Buren (2), Reyes, Koopman, Mihailovic
Assists: Reyes (2), Cassidy, Koopman, Casas
Steals: Rycraw (2), Reyes, Huck, Koopman
Saves: Rycraw (16)
The win represents the Sun Devils 11 over a team currently ranked in the CWPA Top 25 rankings. This the second time ASU has defeated Indiana this season, outscoring the Hoosiers 22-5 over two matches. The Sun Devils defense allowed a season-low two goals which represented the lowest total scored by Indiana this season.
Mia Rycraw looked sharp early and often in the match, as she stifled the Indiana attack on her way to a season-high 16 saves. The offense was led by Alkistis Benekou and Bente Rogge, who both recorded hat tricks in the victory. Amira Van Buren finished with a pair of goals, giving her the first multi-goal game of her career.
After a first period controlled by both defenses, the Sun Devils offense broke out in the second period with four goals to take a 4-0 lead on the Hoosiers going into halftime. Arizona State would dominate the second half, holding Indiana scoreless until the 2:14 was left in the game.
The first eight minutes would remain scoreless, as Mia Rycraw was spectacular in net. She displayed her tremendous athleticism on several highlight-reel saves to keep the game scoreless after one.
Bente Rogge would open up the scoring for the Sun Devils in the second period, tallying a goal at the 6:58 mark to give the Sun Devils a 1-0 lead. The floodgates would open offensively from that point on, as Arizona State established confidence offensively leading to several prime scoring chances. ASU would score three goals over the final 3:21 of the half to enter the break with a 4-0 lead. Alkistis Benekou's goal was the first of the aforementioned goals, followed by Lena Mihailovic and eventually Amira Van Buren, who now has goals in consecutive games.
The Sun Devils would go on to outscore the Hoosiers, 4-0, in the third period to extend their lead to 8-0. Alkistis Benekou and Bente Rogge both scored their second goals of the match early in the period to get ASU off to a strong start in the second half. With 3:42 left in the third, Benekou recorded her third goal to give her the fourth hat trick of the season. Less than a minute later, Maud Koopman joined in on the scoring action, beating the Hoosier goaltender with a perfectly placed shot to provide the Sun Devils with an 8-0 lead at the end of three.
Mia Rycraw continued to play terrific in net into the fourth period, as she prevented Indiana from scoring until the 2:14 mark in the contest. Before the Hoosiers scored their goals, Alkistis Benekou and Bente Rogge were not done finding the back of the net. Benekou tallied her fourth while Rogge recorded her third to give the Sun Devils a 10-0 lead. Julia Reyes, who has goals in five of her last six games, scored her first of the match to extend the lead to 11-0. After Indiana finally got on the scoreboard late in the match, Amira Van Buren would respond less than 30 seconds later beating the goaltender with a rocket of a shot. ASU would go on to win the contest by a score of 12-2.
This was the first of three matches that the Sun Devils will compete in today as part of the ASU Invitational. Later today, ASU will match up with No. 25 Fresno State at 3:45 P.M. MST at Mona Plummer Aquatic Center. To finish up the first day of the ASU Invitational, ASU will face off against 2017 NCAA Tournament Participant Pomona-Pitzer scheduled for 5:00 P.M. MST but will take place approximately 30 minutes after the conclusion of the 3:45 P.M. match. Join us at Mona Plummer Aquatic Center as admission is free all weekend. Visit our website for more updates and follow our social media accounts all season long for content.
Join the conversation all season
Twitter: @SunDevilWP | Facebook: Sun Devil Water Polo | Instagram: @SunDevilWaterPolo
Goals: Benekou (4), Rogge (3), Van Buren (2), Reyes, Koopman, Mihailovic
Assists: Reyes (2), Cassidy, Koopman, Casas
Steals: Rycraw (2), Reyes, Huck, Koopman
Saves: Rycraw (16)