IRVINE, Calif. – Sun Devil Water Polo (9-7) beat No. 17 Indiana (6-8) 16-9 behind freshman attacker Vanda Baksa's new program record for goals in a single game with eight. The Sun Devils ended the Barbara Kalbus invitational with a 3-1 record to improve to 9-7 on the season.
Vanda's record day of eight goals in the game is the most since Alkistis Benekou's seven in 2015, and is just 1 off the MPSF single-game record, and is the most in the MPSF conference in 3 years (2/2/19). Baksa now has 45 goals on the season which ties Luca Petovary's 45 goals for sixth most as a freshman. Her 24 assists give her 69 points on the season, which is third most in program history among freshmen. Her 69 points is the most in the NCAA, one ahead of 2020 Olympic gold medalist Maddie Musselman.
"Vanda has been great for us since the beginning of the season, but from Saturday on, she took it to another level in all aspects of her game," noted Head Coach Todd Clapper, after Baksa notched six goals and five assists on Saturday.
After setting a new program record, and finishing the weekend in Irvine with 22 points (17G-5A), Clapper praised her overall performance, "On Sunday, she was a killer when IU left her open. It was awesome to see her explode like that– like we see every day in practice."
Amira Van Buren, Emma Fraser, and Luca Petovary, Blaire McDowell, and Lara Kiss each saw the scoresheet in the program's 13th straight win over Indiana. After giving up eight goals in the first half, the Sun Devils held the Hoosiers to just one goal in the second half, and outscored them 7-1 in that stretch.
ASU will be on the road next weekend to take on the San Jose State Spartans (10-8) in the first conference matchup of the season. They will play on March 5 at 1 pm MST. On Sunday, March 6 ASU will face No. 4 Stanford at 2 pm MST to continue MPSF conference play. The Cardinal game will be streamed via the Stanford Live Stream.
How it happened:
Indiana scored early with the man-up advantage, but Vanda Baksa handed a PPG right back to tie the game at one. IU tacked on their second goal, but Luca Petovary answered back immediately with a goal of her own. In the first quarter both teams were seemingly goal-for-goal, but ASU escaped the first quarter with a 5-4 lead thanks to Vanda Baksa's hat trick in the first quarter.
Baksa won the sprint to start the second quarter, and got her fourth goal of the morning on the opening possession to add to the lead. IU battled back with an early goal of their own. Baksa's fourth and fifth goals gave ASU some cushion room too. IU battled back with a made penalty shot to pull back within one, but Emma Fraser's goal brought the lead back to two. ASU took a 9-8 lead into the half behind Baksa's six goal half.
Kekesi won the opening sprint to start the Sun Devils on offense in the third quarter, and Van Buren capitalized on the opportunity with her second goal of the day. Blaire McDowell's PPG gave the Sun Devils some breathing room to put them up by three. Baksa got her first goal of the quarter for her seventh of the day to give ASU their largest lead of the game. The defense held the Hoosiers to just one goal in the frame to take a 14-9 lead into the final quarter.
Petovary's opening sprint win started the offense with the ball, and the first goal of the quarter came from Baksa at the midway mark. Kiss got on the board for the first time today, after tallying five assists on the day, with two minutes remaining. The shutout fourth quarter was enough to secure the win for the maroon and gold.
Vanda's record day of eight goals in the game is the most since Alkistis Benekou's seven in 2015, and is just 1 off the MPSF single-game record, and is the most in the MPSF conference in 3 years (2/2/19). Baksa now has 45 goals on the season which ties Luca Petovary's 45 goals for sixth most as a freshman. Her 24 assists give her 69 points on the season, which is third most in program history among freshmen. Her 69 points is the most in the NCAA, one ahead of 2020 Olympic gold medalist Maddie Musselman.
"Vanda has been great for us since the beginning of the season, but from Saturday on, she took it to another level in all aspects of her game," noted Head Coach Todd Clapper, after Baksa notched six goals and five assists on Saturday.
After setting a new program record, and finishing the weekend in Irvine with 22 points (17G-5A), Clapper praised her overall performance, "On Sunday, she was a killer when IU left her open. It was awesome to see her explode like that– like we see every day in practice."
Amira Van Buren, Emma Fraser, and Luca Petovary, Blaire McDowell, and Lara Kiss each saw the scoresheet in the program's 13th straight win over Indiana. After giving up eight goals in the first half, the Sun Devils held the Hoosiers to just one goal in the second half, and outscored them 7-1 in that stretch.
ASU will be on the road next weekend to take on the San Jose State Spartans (10-8) in the first conference matchup of the season. They will play on March 5 at 1 pm MST. On Sunday, March 6 ASU will face No. 4 Stanford at 2 pm MST to continue MPSF conference play. The Cardinal game will be streamed via the Stanford Live Stream.
How it happened:
Indiana scored early with the man-up advantage, but Vanda Baksa handed a PPG right back to tie the game at one. IU tacked on their second goal, but Luca Petovary answered back immediately with a goal of her own. In the first quarter both teams were seemingly goal-for-goal, but ASU escaped the first quarter with a 5-4 lead thanks to Vanda Baksa's hat trick in the first quarter.
Baksa won the sprint to start the second quarter, and got her fourth goal of the morning on the opening possession to add to the lead. IU battled back with an early goal of their own. Baksa's fourth and fifth goals gave ASU some cushion room too. IU battled back with a made penalty shot to pull back within one, but Emma Fraser's goal brought the lead back to two. ASU took a 9-8 lead into the half behind Baksa's six goal half.
Kekesi won the opening sprint to start the Sun Devils on offense in the third quarter, and Van Buren capitalized on the opportunity with her second goal of the day. Blaire McDowell's PPG gave the Sun Devils some breathing room to put them up by three. Baksa got her first goal of the quarter for her seventh of the day to give ASU their largest lead of the game. The defense held the Hoosiers to just one goal in the frame to take a 14-9 lead into the final quarter.
Petovary's opening sprint win started the offense with the ball, and the first goal of the quarter came from Baksa at the midway mark. Kiss got on the board for the first time today, after tallying five assists on the day, with two minutes remaining. The shutout fourth quarter was enough to secure the win for the maroon and gold.