TEMPE, ARIZ.-- The Arizona State water polo team hosted their first tournament of the season Friday with No. 1 USC (2-0) and No. 6 Michigan (5-0) in town for a doubleheader on Friday. The Sun Devils (5-2) lost back-to-back games for their first losses of the season, but have a chance at redemption this weekend as they will face USC and Michigan once more.
The Trojans had a strong defense against the Sun Devils to back up their #1 ranking in the polls, holding ASU to just eight goals on 30 shots, a 26.7% shooting percentage. The game started off close with both teams exchanging goals up until the final horn at the half, but ASU fell a bit short in the second half, recording only one goal in the third quarter.
Game two against Michigan started in similar fashion with close scoring, but a slow offensive fourth quarter for the Sun Devils led to Michigan pulling away in the end. Both teams were two-for-four on their power plays, while ASU was two-for-two on penalty shots and Michigan made two of three penalty shots.
UP NEXT:
The Sun Devils have a chance for revenge on Saturday where they will face USC at 9:30 a.m. MT back at Mona Plummer. The Sun Devils will also have a second game against the Wolverines at 2 p.m. MT on Sunday. Both games will be available to watch via the ASU Live Stream, as fan attendance is not permitted at any ASU events this season.
After this weekend, the Sun Devils will continue their 17 game home stretch with Stanford coming to town for two games the weekend of March 6-7. While fan attendance is not allowed this season, both games will be available to watch via the ASU Live Stream: https://pac-12.com/live/arizona-state-university-2.
GAME ONE: ASU 8, USC 16
HOW IT HAPPENED:
GAME TWO: ASU 10, Michigan 12
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Trojans had a strong defense against the Sun Devils to back up their #1 ranking in the polls, holding ASU to just eight goals on 30 shots, a 26.7% shooting percentage. The game started off close with both teams exchanging goals up until the final horn at the half, but ASU fell a bit short in the second half, recording only one goal in the third quarter.
Game two against Michigan started in similar fashion with close scoring, but a slow offensive fourth quarter for the Sun Devils led to Michigan pulling away in the end. Both teams were two-for-four on their power plays, while ASU was two-for-two on penalty shots and Michigan made two of three penalty shots.
UP NEXT:
The Sun Devils have a chance for revenge on Saturday where they will face USC at 9:30 a.m. MT back at Mona Plummer. The Sun Devils will also have a second game against the Wolverines at 2 p.m. MT on Sunday. Both games will be available to watch via the ASU Live Stream, as fan attendance is not permitted at any ASU events this season.
After this weekend, the Sun Devils will continue their 17 game home stretch with Stanford coming to town for two games the weekend of March 6-7. While fan attendance is not allowed this season, both games will be available to watch via the ASU Live Stream: https://pac-12.com/live/arizona-state-university-2.
GAME ONE: ASU 8, USC 16
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- The Sun Devils started strong and matched the pace of the Trojans as both sides were exchanging goals in the first half to keep it within two goals for the majority of the first half.
- ASU went three-for-three on penalty shots, while USC only made one of two.
- At the half, ASU was down 8-7, but the Sun Devils were unable to match the Trojan's pace in the second half. The Trojans pulled away with eight goals in the second half and held ASU to just one goal.
- The Sun Devil defense drew 12 exclusions, but was just one-for-nine on power plays.
- The Sun Devil offense was led by Borbala Kekesi who recorded four goals on six shots and drew two exclusions. Alba Olive Marti also helped out defensively and drew two exclusions against the Trojans. Luca Petovary recorded one goal and two assists to put her 19 goals on the season.
- The Trojans had six scorers, and Maud Megens led all scorers with five goals.
GAME TWO: ASU 10, Michigan 12
HOW IT HAPPENED
- ASU and Michigan were trading goals to open the first quarter of play, and ended the quarter tied at four apiece. The two teams traded penalty shots
- Borbala Kekesi stayed hot in game two, and recorded
- At the half, the teams were tied at eight a piece.
- The Sun Devils were unable to score in the fourth quarter, and Michigan pulled away with three goals and kept an aggressive defense against the Sun Devils.
- The Sun Devils had opportunities, but missed some shots late in the game.
- At the :31 minute mark, Baca left the net at a last stitch effort to make some plays but the Sun Devils fell short.
- Emma Fraser was the leading scorer for ASU with three goals against the wolverines while also recording a steal. Blaire McDowell had two goals, a steal, and a drawn exclusion against Michigan.