(Tempe, AZ) On a rainy day in Tempe, day two of the ASU Invitational saw No. 7 Sun Devil Water Polo (10-1) notched two victories Saturday afternoon over No. 19 San Jose State (1-4) and Marist at Mona Plummer Aquatic Center. In the first game, the Sun Devils defeated the Spartans 9-5, and then in game two in the afternoon, won 23-7 over Marist.
Senior Luca Petovary re-wrote the history books with a nine-goal game against Marist, the most goals a Sun Devil has scored in a game in program history, surpassing Vanda Baska’s mark of eight goals set on Feb. 27, 2022 against No. 17 Indiana. The mark ties the MPSF’s all-time record and is the ninth game in history to have a player score nine in a single game.
The Hungarian also notched three assists in the game against the Red Foxes, for 12 points, tied for second-most in program history with Juliette Dhalluin who had a 12-point game last season. Petovary has 48 games through 11 games and is five away from tying her career high.
In a victory against the Spartans, Zoe Frangieh netted two goals, along with Millie Quin, Sophie Shorter-Robinson and Alison Kokorowski scoring one apiece in the win. Lara Kisshad three assists in the victory, which surpassed Ashley Bower for most assists in a Sun Devil Career with 120.
Against the Red Foxes, Olivé Martí netted four goals, her second game with three or more goals this season, including a new career high with 17 goals in 11 games this year. Frangieh, Quin and Shorter-Robinson had two goals apiece in the win. Quin, also had four assists which is a new career high for the Sophomore. Kiss, Dikmans, Abby Begg and Kokorowski had a goal each for the Sun Devil’s 10th win of the year.
Re-Writing the History Books:
- Luca Petovary’s nine goals are a new program record, breaking the previous record of eight held by Vanda Baska.
- Senior Lara Kiss’ three assists against San Jose State surpasses Ashley Bower for most assists in program history with 121 career assists. She added to her tally against Marist with one in the victory.
Team Notables:
- The team’s 10-1 start is the third-best start in program history through 11 games, and its the third time this season ASU has surpassed 20 goals in a game.
- Sun Devil Water Polo has a goal differential of +79 on the season. They have only allowed 78 goals through 11 games.
Ten steals against Marist marked the third time this season the Sun Devils have reached the 10 steals mark.
Game 1: No. 7 Arizona State 9, No. 19 San Jose State 5
The Sun Devils got off to a hot start in the first quarter with Zoe Frangieh scoring in the opening 30 seconds to give the Sun Devils the advantage. After SJSU tied the game, Luca Petovary tacked on a penalty shot, and rifled in another to the top right of the net to give the Sun Devils a two-goal advantage. Millie Quin lofted a shot past the San Jose State defense and into the net with 2:36 left to extend the lead to 4-1 going into the second quarter.
The second period began similar to the first, with Frangieh adding her second goal another goal 30 seconds into the quarter to increase the lead to 5-1. The Spartans went on to score a goal of their own, but Petovary would answer with 2:12 remaining in the second quarter with the score being 6-3 going into halftime.
Petovary led off the scoring in the third period with a penalty shot to give the Sun Devils a four-goal advantage with 6:59 remaining in the third period. The Spartans cut the lead to three, but not long after, Alison Kokorowski netted a goal with 5:15 left to push the lead back to four. The Sun Devils headed to the final period with an 8-5 lead.
After being deadlocked for the first three and a half minutes, Shorter-Robinson added an insurance goal to make the score 9-5 with 4:24 remaining in the game. ASU played conservative on offense for the last four minutes and was stout on defense, securing the win.
Game 2: No. 7 Arizona State 23, Marist 7
Marist scored on their first possession but Lara Kiss arched a goal past the Marist’s goalkeeper’s reach and evened the score at the six-minute mark in the first quarter. Luca Petovary found the back of the net on two separate occasions in the final five minutes of the quarter, but Marist scored a goal of their own before going into the second period 3-2.
Zoe Frangieh gave the Sun Devils a two-goal Sun Devils advantage with 6:52 remaining. After a Marist goal, Petovary responded with her third goal of the first half and Jasmijn Dikmans fired a goal of her own to give ASU a 6-3 lead. Olivé Martí joined in on the scoring barrage with a goal that deflected off the goalkeeper’s hands at 3:29 to make the lead 7-3.
Petrovary continued her scoring tear with another goal with under three minutes left, but the Red Foxes would muster up a goal in the final seconds with ASU holding an 8-4 lead at halftime.
Marist scored a goal to open the third quarter, making it 8-5. But from there the Sun Devils would outscore the Red Foxes 6-1 in the remainder of the quarter with goals by Olivé Martí, Petovary, Begg and Quin to lead 14-6 after three quarters.
The Sun Devils would continue to dominate with nine goals in the final eight minutes, featuring two from Shorter-Robinson and Petovary, who would break the record on a putback goal with 1:16 remaining in the game.
UP NEXT
The Sun Devils continue tomorrow in the final game of the ASU Invitational against Ottawa-AZ at 11:30 a.m. AZT at Mona Plummer Aquatic Center.
Press Release courtesy of Sun Devil Athletics – Zach Wargo & Lucas Castilleja
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