Undefeated No. 13 Water Polo Closes ASU Invitational in Style

TEMPE - No. 13 Sun Devil Water Polo (4-0) remained undefeated by finishing off the ASU Invitational with victories against No. 15 UC Davis and Cal Baptist on Sunday at Mona Plummer Aquatic Center. The Sun Devils captured the first game of the day against the Aggies 10-8, then pulled away against the Lancers 16-10.

Game Notables:

• Sophie Shorter-Robinson surpassed 100 career points, scoring seven goals between the two matches (two against UC Davis and five against CBU). She also leads the team in goals scored at 14
• Hannah McClaskey and Leila Meraz scored their first collegiate goals against CBU
• Tallying five goals versus UC Davis (1) and CBU (4), Millie Quin brought her total goal count up to 12 for the season
• Freshman Itziar Almeda tallied eight points on the day (2G, 3A against UC Davis and 2G, 1A against CBU). She leads the team in points at 20 and in assists at 11
• Junior Zoe Frangieh finished the weekend with a shot percentage of 81.8% and nine goals
• Securing 18 saves against UC Davis, Sanne Keijzer is 12 saves away from 250 career saves

Game 1: No. 13 Arizona State 10, No. 15 UC Davis 8
UC Davis struck first 59 seconds into the contest, and the Aggies doubled their lead soon after. Jasmijn Dikmans was able to turn the tide for the Sun Devils, finding the back of the net to cut the deficit in half. Arizona State then tied the game at two as Molly Glad scored on a penalty shot. Ani Pamp put the Sun Devils ahead 3-2 with a blazing shot from distance, and the first quarter ended with ASU in front.

Three minutes into the second quarter, Sophie Shorter-Robinson extended ASU's lead to 4-2. Itziar Almeda gave the Sun Devils a 5-2 advantage late in the quarter, and Arizona State went into halftime with the lead.

The Aggies began the second half by cutting the Sun Devils lead to 5-3, but ASU regained its three-goal advantage courtesy of Shorter-Robinson's second goal of the day. Zoe Frangieh widened the Sun Devil lead to 7-3 with her seventh goal in three games. UC Davis then scored two straight goals and Arizona State entered the fourth quarter with a 7-5 lead.

UC Davis found the net again early in the fourth quarter, but Millie Quin and Almeda scored crucial goals to get the lead back to three. The Aggies still wouldn't go away, scoring two in a row to trim the lead to 9-8. Frangieh came through in the clutch with her second goal which gave ASU a 10-8 advantage, and that proved to be the final score as the Sun Devils captured the first game of the day.

Game 2: No. 13 Arizona State 16, Cal Baptist 10
The Lancers found the back of the net first, but Shorter-Robinson responded by tying the game at one with her tenth goal of the season. After CBU regained the lead, ASU once again leveled the game at two with Quin's second goal of the day. With one minute left in the first quarter, Shorter-Robinson scored a nifty backhand goal to put the Sun Devils in front 3-2. 

Shorter-Robinson's dominance continued in the second quarter, as she completed a hat trick on a breakaway to give Arizona State a 4-2 advantage. Frangieh's third goal of the day then extended the Sun Devil lead to three, but then the Lancers scored two straight to cut the lead to 5-4. The two teams traded the next two goals, with Hannah McClaskey scoring her first collegiate goal for ASU. With 57 seconds remaining in the first half, Shorter-Robinson notched her sixth goal of the day which granted the Sun Devils a 7-5 halftime lead. 

Cal Baptist started the second half hot, as the Lancers scored three straight goals to take an 8-7 lead. Despite giving up the lead, the Sun Devils would find their form again as goals from Almeda and Quin put ASU back on top. A penalty shot goal from CBU tied the game again at nine, but Quin and Almeda again provided clutch scores to give ASU an 11-9 advantage. With just four seconds left in the third quarter, McClaskey secured her second goal of the game on a breakaway as the Sun Devils carried a 12-9 lead into the final frame.

Both teams exchanged goals to start the fourth quarter, with Glad notching her second goal of the day for ASU. Leila Meraz scored her first collegiate goal to extend the Sun Devil lead to 14-10. Quin soon followed with her fourth goal of the game to put Arizona State in front by five. Fittingly, Shorter-Robinson struck once again to bring the game's final score to 16-10.

UP NEXT:
The Sun Devils will travel to the Aloha State for the Hawaii Invitational on January 24-25 against Biola, Loyola Marymount and Hawaii.

HOW TO FOLLOW:
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 along with other MPSF Conference teams.