TEMPE – After spending three straight weeks on the road in California, No. 8 Sun Devil Water Polo returns to Mona Plummer Aquatic Center to celebrate the program's past in its alumnae game, taking on No. 19 Harvard this Saturday at 10:30 a.m. AZT. The game will be live-streamed on ASU Live-Stream 2 and live stats will be available on 6-8 sports for the ranked matchup.
The Sun Devils are on track to have their first 20-win season since 2017, being only two wins away with 10 games to play it would be the seventh time in program history to reach the 20-win mark. The team has already surpassed their win total from last season and have been scored double-digit goals in 17 of 22 games this year. The Sun Devils will look to extend their winning streak to five this upcoming weekend.
This weekend will be the fifth meetup with the Crimson, with each side winning two games apiece in the four games. It marks the third consecutive year that Arizona State has matched up with Harvard, as the Sun Devils will look to avenge last season's overtime 13-10 defeat. The last two matchups have been high scoring, with each team scoring in double-digits. In 2022, the Sun Devils edged out the Crimson with a 14-13 victory in Tempe.
LAST TIME OUT:
The Sun Devils competed in their final regular season tournament of the season in the Convergence Tournament in Claremont, California, hosted by Ponoma-Pitzer going 4-0 and managed to outscore opponents 70-22 in four games. ASU surpassed the 20-goal mark in two games, setting the largest margin of victory at a neutral site in the 24-5 win over Mount St. Mary's. In that win, Luca Petovary set the program record with most goals in a season, who has 100 through 22 games, and scored 10 goals against the Mountaineers in the win. The Sun Devils defeated Azusa Pacific 15-8 in their second game on Friday. On Saturday, the Sun Devils defeated Concordia-Irvine 11-3, then finished with a balanced offensive attack, beating BIola 20-6.
LUCA LEADING THE DAY:
The senior continues her stellar senior season by achieving three milestones over the weekend. In a victory over Mount St. Mary's, she broke the program record and the MPSF record for most goals in a game with 10 goals, also setting the Sun Devil record with most goals in a season, doing so in 19 games. She became the first Sun Devil to reach the century mark with 100 goals, the 6th MPSF player to do so ever. She also became the second Sun Devil to surpass 300 points, with 302 in her career.
In addition, she's three points away from breaking the program record for most points in a season, currently sitting at 121. Petovary has averaged an astounding 4.5 goals per game, and has 10 games this season with 5+ goals. The Hungarian is within grasp of becoming the program's all-time leading scorer, sitting at 230 career goals she's seven away from breaking the Sun Devil record.
DUO FROM DOWN UNDER:
Both Millie Quin and Sophie Shorter-Robinson have been vital to the Sun Devils' success this season, ranking second and third on the team in goals and points. Quin currently sits at 52 goals, after having ten goals and eight assists this past weekend, she's currently 16 points away from 100 points for the season. Shorter-Robinson, had 42 goals and seven assists on the year, ranking third on the team respectively, and is second in the MPSF conference with 25 drawn exclusions. Both have combined for 95 goals this year through 22 games. Quin has been getting it done on the defensive side leading the team with 21 steals and third on the team with 10 field-blocks.
SUN DEVIL OUTLOOK:
No. 8 Arizona State (18-4, 0-1 MPSF)
OPPONENT OUTLOOK:
No. 19 Harvard (9-6, 3-2 CWPA)
Continue following Sun Devil Water Polo on Twitter/X, Instagram and Facebook all-season long during the 2024 season @SunDevilWP for coverage of the team. Live stats can be found on 6-8 sports and TheFosh along with other MPSF Conference teams.
The Sun Devils are on track to have their first 20-win season since 2017, being only two wins away with 10 games to play it would be the seventh time in program history to reach the 20-win mark. The team has already surpassed their win total from last season and have been scored double-digit goals in 17 of 22 games this year. The Sun Devils will look to extend their winning streak to five this upcoming weekend.
This weekend will be the fifth meetup with the Crimson, with each side winning two games apiece in the four games. It marks the third consecutive year that Arizona State has matched up with Harvard, as the Sun Devils will look to avenge last season's overtime 13-10 defeat. The last two matchups have been high scoring, with each team scoring in double-digits. In 2022, the Sun Devils edged out the Crimson with a 14-13 victory in Tempe.
LAST TIME OUT:
The Sun Devils competed in their final regular season tournament of the season in the Convergence Tournament in Claremont, California, hosted by Ponoma-Pitzer going 4-0 and managed to outscore opponents 70-22 in four games. ASU surpassed the 20-goal mark in two games, setting the largest margin of victory at a neutral site in the 24-5 win over Mount St. Mary's. In that win, Luca Petovary set the program record with most goals in a season, who has 100 through 22 games, and scored 10 goals against the Mountaineers in the win. The Sun Devils defeated Azusa Pacific 15-8 in their second game on Friday. On Saturday, the Sun Devils defeated Concordia-Irvine 11-3, then finished with a balanced offensive attack, beating BIola 20-6.
LUCA LEADING THE DAY:
The senior continues her stellar senior season by achieving three milestones over the weekend. In a victory over Mount St. Mary's, she broke the program record and the MPSF record for most goals in a game with 10 goals, also setting the Sun Devil record with most goals in a season, doing so in 19 games. She became the first Sun Devil to reach the century mark with 100 goals, the 6th MPSF player to do so ever. She also became the second Sun Devil to surpass 300 points, with 302 in her career.
In addition, she's three points away from breaking the program record for most points in a season, currently sitting at 121. Petovary has averaged an astounding 4.5 goals per game, and has 10 games this season with 5+ goals. The Hungarian is within grasp of becoming the program's all-time leading scorer, sitting at 230 career goals she's seven away from breaking the Sun Devil record.
DUO FROM DOWN UNDER:
Both Millie Quin and Sophie Shorter-Robinson have been vital to the Sun Devils' success this season, ranking second and third on the team in goals and points. Quin currently sits at 52 goals, after having ten goals and eight assists this past weekend, she's currently 16 points away from 100 points for the season. Shorter-Robinson, had 42 goals and seven assists on the year, ranking third on the team respectively, and is second in the MPSF conference with 25 drawn exclusions. Both have combined for 95 goals this year through 22 games. Quin has been getting it done on the defensive side leading the team with 21 steals and third on the team with 10 field-blocks.
SUN DEVIL OUTLOOK:
No. 8 Arizona State (18-4, 0-1 MPSF)
- Senior Luca Petovary this season currently had 100 goals this season, leading the MPSF conference and is 19 goals away from tying the MPSF season record for most goals in a season.
- In her career she has six games with 7 or more goals, with five of them coming this season.
- The Senior is seven goals away from breaking the all-time record. She is also three points away from setting the ASU record for most points in a season (124).
- Graduate Lara Kiss remains atop the MPSF conference with 33 assists, and leads the team with 16 field-blocks this year. She is one of three players with 10 or more steals and double-digit field-blocks.
- Sophomore Sophie Shorter-Robinson leads the MPSF conference with 25 drawn exclusions, as Petovary is in second in the conference with 24. Four players on the team have double-digit drawn exclusions this season, as Millie Quin has 19 and Alba Olivé-Martí has 16.
- Scoring first has been vital for the success for the team this year, going 15-1 in games where they've scored the games first goal.
- The Sun Devils have tallied 20+ goals six times this season, two coming just last weekend
- The maroon & gold are 14-0 when two or more players score three or more goals in a game this year.
- ASU is 8-4 against ranked opponents this season.
- Saturday will mark the fifth all-time match up with the Crimson, with each team splitting the last four games.
OPPONENT OUTLOOK:
No. 19 Harvard (9-6, 3-2 CWPA)
- Harvard comes into Tempe after going 2-1 this weekend, playing three conference games, defeating Saint Francis 16-5, and Bucknell 15-6, securing two wins in the CWPA conference. But the Crimson were unable to defeat No. 7 Michigan in a tight 12-8 loss.
- In all nine of Harvard's wins, they've allowed 10-goals or less this season.
- In 2023, Harvard defeated Arizona State in a 13-10 overtime win.
- The Crimson are 1-6 against ranked teams this season, with their only victory coming against then-No. 23 Brown in a 10-7 win on Feb. 23 in their conference opener.
Continue following Sun Devil Water Polo on Twitter/X, Instagram and Facebook all-season long during the 2024 season @SunDevilWP for coverage of the team. Live stats can be found on 6-8 sports and TheFosh along with other MPSF Conference teams.