ASU will look to secure fifth place tomorrow against No. 10 Michigan
(La Jolla, CA) On the second day of the Triton Invitational, No. 14 Sun Devil Water Polo Split the doubleheader Saturday, dropping their morning match-up against No. 3 UCLA (6-0) 13-8, but aggressive defense helped defeat No. 16 UC Davis (1-8) 9-4 Saturday evening to play for fifth place against No. 10 Michigan at 11 a.m. AZT tomorrow.
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The Sun Devils were led by Luca Petovary who recorded a hat trick against the Bruins, then in the second game she managed to outscore the Mustangs with five goals of her own, making it the sixth straight game with three or more goals, and the third game this year with at least five goals. The senior has a team-leading 11 goals this weekend to bring her tally to 28 on the year.
Coming off a six-game performance against UC San Diego the day before, Millie Quinadded a pair of goals against the Bruins, including Sophie Shorter-Robinson, Alba Olivé-Martí adding one apiece. Lastly, Sanne Keijzer scored her first collegiate goal late in the third period against UCLA.
In the second contest, the Sun Devils jumped out to a 3-0 lead early and never looked back, holding the Mustangs scoreless for the first 12:39 of game-time, and got goals from five different goal scorers with Keijzer standing strong in net, allowing a season-low four goals in 32 minutes.
Game 1: No. 14 ASU 8, No. 3 UCLA 13
In the first game, the Bruins jumped out to five quick goals before Petovary put the Sun Devils on the board at the 2:34 mark in the first quarter, the opening eight minutes featured eight exclusions combined on both sides, as the scoring slowed down on both sides entering the second quarter.
The Sun Devils were unable to generate any offense in the second frame, but both sides were unable to generate any goal scoring with the Bruins only finding the net twice, holding a 7-1 lead at the break.
Returning from halftime. the Sun Devils found their offense scoring two straight goals in the opening two minutes from Petovary and Olivé Martí to make it 7-3. The Hungarian would add another goal late in the third period along with goalie Sanne Keijzer capping off the frame with her first collegiate goal putting ASU down 10-5.
The final frame featured each side trading goals with Millie Quin scoring twice, cutting the lead down to four with three minutes remaining. Shorter-Robinson would net her first goal of the weekend late at the 1:34 mark to outscore the Bruins 8-7 in the second half.
Game 2: No. 14 ASU 9, No. 16 UC Davis 4
In the second game, the Sun Devils struck first with a pair of goals in the first quarter by Luca Petovary and Lara Kiss to open the game. The Mustangs were held scoreless in the first quarter as ASU held a 2-0 lead.
Petovary would add another goal halfway through the second quarter, then after each side traded possessions the Mustangs scored their first goal before the end of the half with ASU holding a 3-1 lead. Coming out of halftime goals Kat Featherstone and Petovary each added to the Sun Devils tally and withstood the Mustangs charge to cut the deficit, with ASU leading 5-3 entering the final frame.
From there the Sun Devils stormed out with back-to-back goals by the Hungarian, bringing her total to five in the first three minutes of the fourth quarter, then another by Emily Van Zonneveld to extend ASU’s lead to five with 4:20 remaining. The maroon & gold would add another goal by Alison Kokorowski, her first collegiate goal to cap off the 9-4 victory.
UP NEXT:
The Sun Devils will conclude their weekend at the Triton Invitational tomorrow as ASU will play for 5th place against No. 10 Michigan at 11 A.M AZT. Coverage can be seen on the Sun Devil Water Polo social channels all weekend with no live stats or broadcast available.
Press Release courtesy of Sun Devil Athletics – Zach Wargo
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