TEMPE – No. 5 Sun Devil Water Polo fell in heartbreaking fashion to No. 4 Cal, 11-10, on a buzzer-beating goal with one second remaining in regulation.
Arizona State (19-3, 1-2) and Cal (9-3, 1-1) traded goals throughout all four quarters, with the Sun Devils holding the match's largest lead at 6-4 in the third. Cal seized momentum in the fourth quarter with back-to-back goals to take a 10-9 advantage.
Freshman attacker Jelena Butic appeared to force overtime with a tying goal with just 13 seconds remaining, but the Golden Bears answered with the game-winner as time expired.
Senior attacker Millie Quin led Arizona State with four goals, moving within six of the program's all-time scoring record. Freshman attacker Dominika Kardos added three goals, while sophomore attacker Itziar Almeda, Butic, and senior center Sophie Shorter-Robinson each contributed one.
Up Next
The Sun Devils are set to hit the road to compete in the Convergence tournament in Claremont, Calif. from March 6-7. Arizona State opens the tournament against Pomona-Pitzer.
The Millie special
Millie Quin has jumped out of the gates this season and has proven herself as a serious threat for Arizona State. The senior is currently six goals away from passing former Sun Devil Luca Petovary as ASU's all-time leading goal scorer.
- Luca Petovary, 252 goals
2. Millie Quin, 247 goals
MPSF Conference all-time leaderboard
Millie Quin will enter the third conference game of the year in the ninth spot on MPSF's list for career goals scored. The senior began her collegiate career at Cal, where she found the back of the net for 19 goals, and has tallied the rest at Arizona State, totaling 262 in her career.
1. Rae Lekness, San Jose State (2013-16), 294
2. Monica Vavic, USC (2012-15), 291
3. Makenzie Fischer, Stanford (2017-22), 288
4. Molly Smith, Pacific (1997-00), 286
5. Holly Hartzell, San Diego State (2001-04), 278
6. Anna Gonzales, San Diego State (2006-09), 273
7. Stephania Haralabidis, USC (2014-17), 269
8. Jessica Schroeder, Pacific (2001-05), 268
9. Millie Quin, Arizona State (2023-pres.), 266
10. Tilly Kearns, USC (2019-25), 262
T11. Jenna Schuster, San Diego State (2006-09), 255
T11. Aniko Pelle, USC (1999-02), 255
T13. Luca Petovary, Arizona State (2021-24), 252
T13. Maddie Musselman, UCLA (2017-22), 252
15. Adriana Vogt, San Jose State (2008-11), 245
Game-by-game scoring
ASU 10, Cal 11
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | FINAL | |
| ASU | 2 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 10 |
| Cal | 2 | 2 | 2 | 5 | 11 |
ASU Scoring: Itziar Almeda (1), Jelena Butic (1), Dominika Kardos (3), Millie Quin (4), Sophie Shorter-Robinson (1),
Follow along
Follow Sun Devil Water Polo on sundevils.com, @sundevilwp on X, @sundevilwaterpolo on Instagram and Facebook all season long for coverage of the team. Matches are broadcast on Overnght, and live stats are available on 6-8sports.