TEMPE, ARIZ.-- The Arizona State water polo team concluded this weekend's tournament play at Mona Plummer with a win against #6 Michigan (5-3) to put ASU at 6-3 on the season. The tough weekend for the Sun Devils ended in victory fashion behind dominant performances from Chelsea Karimazondo in net, and Sun Devil scorers Bente Rogge (3), Blaire McDowell (2), and Luca Petovary (2).
Head Coach Todd Clapper noted the team's defensive improvement from Friday's action against Michigan, "Going from how many goals were scored against us on Friday... to four today, we're doing a lot better job defensively which is really important, and I think this is really good preparation for us having Stanford come to town next weekend for our first conference game."
Chelsea Karimazondo got the start at goalie for the Sun Devils, and held the Wolverines to just four goals off of 25 shots, a 12.5 shooting percentage. She received help from the defense, which held Michigan to just one power play goal on six opportunities.
After yesterday's last minute comeback efforts from Bente Rogge in the fourth period fell just short against USC, Rogge picked up where she left off and led all scorers with three goals on the day while also recording an assist and two steals. Luca Petovary had two goals and two steals against the Wolverines, and with today's goals she has now scored a goal in every game this season to lead the team with 24. Blaire McDowell had herself a weekend against Michigan, with two goals today to put her at four total against the Wolverines and 10 on the season.
UP NEXT:
The Sun Devils will continue their 17 game home stand where they will resume hosting duties at Mona Plummer with No. 2 Stanford coming to town for two games the weekend of March 6-7 at 1:00 PM MST. 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.
ASU 7, Michigan 4
HOW IT HAPPENED:
Head Coach Todd Clapper noted the team's defensive improvement from Friday's action against Michigan, "Going from how many goals were scored against us on Friday... to four today, we're doing a lot better job defensively which is really important, and I think this is really good preparation for us having Stanford come to town next weekend for our first conference game."
Chelsea Karimazondo got the start at goalie for the Sun Devils, and held the Wolverines to just four goals off of 25 shots, a 12.5 shooting percentage. She received help from the defense, which held Michigan to just one power play goal on six opportunities.
After yesterday's last minute comeback efforts from Bente Rogge in the fourth period fell just short against USC, Rogge picked up where she left off and led all scorers with three goals on the day while also recording an assist and two steals. Luca Petovary had two goals and two steals against the Wolverines, and with today's goals she has now scored a goal in every game this season to lead the team with 24. Blaire McDowell had herself a weekend against Michigan, with two goals today to put her at four total against the Wolverines and 10 on the season.
McDowell's nasty backhand makes it 6-3 late in the 3rd! pic.twitter.com/qSAohr4xqZ
— Sun Devil Water Polo (@SunDevilWP) February 28, 2021
UP NEXT:
The Sun Devils will continue their 17 game home stand where they will resume hosting duties at Mona Plummer with No. 2 Stanford coming to town for two games the weekend of March 6-7 at 1:00 PM MST. 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.
ASU 7, Michigan 4
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- The game opened up slower than the first matchup against Michigan on Friday, with the first goal for ASU coming at the 3:10 mark in the first period from reigning Newcomer of the Week, Luca Petovary.
- Chelsea Karimazondo had 12 saves on the day giving her a save percentage of 75%.
- Karimazondo received help from the defense, as the team had seven steals and six drawn exclusions. A large part of that was due to Amira Van Buren who had a quiet day offensively, but drew three exclusions in the team's efforts to keep Michigan off of the board.
- The Sun Devils capitalized on power plays scoring goals on three of six power play opportunities.
- At the half, ASU was up 4-3 and added to that lead with three goals in the third to give them some insurance headed into the fourth.
- The Sun Devil defense held Michigan to just one goal in the second half which came late in the game at the 10 second mark of the fourth period to secure their sixth win of the season.