(Tempe, AZ) In Saturday’s regular season finale, No. 10 Sun Devil Water Polo (22-7, 2-4 MPSF) fell 14-10 to No. 4 USC (17-5, 4-1 MPSF). ASU battled back from a seven-goal halftime deficit and outscored the Trojans in the second half 8-5, but it wasn’t enough to overcome USC’s big run in the second quarter.
Despite the defeat, the match was a special day for the Sun Devils seniors. Abby Begg, Emily Van Zonneveld, Luca Petovary and Alba Olivé-Martí were honored prior to tip-off in their last career match at Mona Plummer Aquatic Center.
The seniors accounted for five of ASU’s 10 goals. Petovary scored a team-high three goals for her 25th hat trick of the season. Olivé Martí found the back of the net twice in the game’s final minute. It was her seventh multi-goal game of the year. For Petovary, it broke a 27-year old MPSF record with 120 goals in a season, breaking California’s Alisa Von Hartizsch’s record of 119 goals in a season set in 1997.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
USC scored two unanswered to open the game, but goalkeeper Sanne Keijzer save at the five-minute mark to hold the Trojan’s lead to two goals.
The Sun Devils responded to Keijzer’s big stop, and Petovary scored two consecutive penalty goals at 3:15 and 2:45 of the first quarter to tie the game 2-2.
The Trojans tallied two more scores late in the quarter to regain the lead, 4-2.
USC added five more goals in the second quarter to take a 9-2 halftime lead.
The Trojans struck first in the second half, but ASU earned a power play on their next possession. Petovary scored her third goal of the game 45 seconds into the man advantage, at 4:38 of the third quarter to make it 10-3. Then Sophie Shorter-Robinson rifled a shot into the back of the net at 3:49 to cut the deficit to six goals.
Millie Quin continued ASU’s scoring run, netting her first goal of the game at 1:48 of the third to make it 10-5.
The Trojans scored to end the Sun Devils’ 3-0 run before Quin tallied her second score of the day in the final minute of the period. She lifted an accurate shot from the left corner of the pool past USC’s outstretched netminder to get ASU back within five goals.
USC extended their lead by two more goals in the first five minutes of the fourth quarter, but the Sun Devils answered back. Jasmijn Dikmans netted her first score of the game at 4:23 to make it 13-7.
Shorter-Robinson scored her second goal of the day at 3:08 to pull the Sun Devils within five.
The final score was 14-10 USC after Alba Olivé Martí registered two goals in the final minute. Her first came from the front of the net after receiving a quick pass from Abby Begg.
UP NEXT
The Sun Devils will have a week break before traveling to Bloomington, Indiana for the MPSF Conference Championships. The tournament will take place from Friday, April 26 through Sunday, April 28. ASU’s match times and opponents will be determined.
Press Release courtesy of Sun Devil Athletics – Chase Clemens
Click on Logo
