ASU water polo splits two games in San Diego


The No. 9 Arizona State University water polo team opened a four-game weekend in San Diego, Calif., on Saturday and split their two games, falling to the No. 11 and host Aztecs of San Diego State, 9-7, before bouncing back with a 15-5 defeat of Brown. Both games were held at the Aztec Aquaplex on the SDSU campus. With the split, the Sun Devils now stand 9-11 overall on the season and 0-6 in the MPSF.

In the first game, the hosts jumped out to a 3-1 lead before holding a 7-2 advantage at the intermission. In the second half, the Sun Devils fought back, scoring three times in the third to make it 9-5 and the held the Aztecs scoreless in the fourth. Despite the strong defense in the fourth, ASU was only able to find the back of the cage twice, dropping the conference contest by two scores.

Nikki Unbehaun led the offense with a pair of goals while Shannon Haas, Sarah Harris, Morgan Leech, Mariam Salloum and Kelsey White each added one goal apiece. Lynlee Smith assisted on three goals while Annabelle Carter, Haas, Harris and Amanda Young each added helpers in the game. Defensively, Ianeta Hutchinson played the entire game and recorded seven saves in the loss.

Several hours after the loss, the Sun Devils bounced back in a big way by snapping a three-game losing streak with their 15-5 defeat of Brown, a program formerly led by current ASU head coach Todd Clapper. Against the Bears, the Sun Devils jumped out to a 5-0 lead through the first eight minutes of play and never looked back as they held leads of 10-1 at halftime and 13-2 after three.

Salloum put on a show for the Sun Devils offensively as she had a hand in the first eight ASU goals, either tallying the goal herself or assisting on a teammate’s goal. Overall, she finished with a game-high four goals while Harris posted three and Smith with two. Six others added one goal each, including Tristin Baxter, Carter, Leech, Searra Silverberg, Unbehaun and Young. The left-handed Baxter, who also won the opening sprints in two quarters, scored with her right hand in her first action with the team after completing her freshman season with the swimming team a few weeks ago.

Salloum added four assists to her scoring for a career-high eight points, surpassing the seven she tallied at CS Monterey Bay earlier this year. Harris, Smith and goalie Hutchinson each added two assists in the game while single helpers were recorded by Carter, Haas, Leech, Silverberg and Unbehaun. With those two assists by Smith, she brought her daily total to five in two games and increased her season total to 37, the third-most in a single-season in ASU history and nine from the season record (46).

Defensively, Hutchinson recorded seven total saves, including one on a five-meter penalty shot, while playing just the first three quarters of the game. In the fourth, rookie Madison Moore made her collegiate debut and recorded four saves while allowing three goals in her first eight minutes of play.

A pair of games await the Sun Devils on Sunday as they will travel across town to La Jolla, Calif., for games against Fresno Pacific and the host Tritons of UC San Diego. The Sun Devils and Sunbirds will meet at 11 a.m. at Canyonview Pool on the UCSD campus before facing the No. 20 Tritons at 5 p.m.

#11 San Diego State def. #9 Arizona State, 9-7
ASU: 1 - 1 - 3 - 2 = 7
SDS: 3 - 4 - 2 - 0 = 9

Goals
ASU: Unbehaun 2, Haas, Harris, Leech, Salloum, White
SDS: L. Ford 3, Brady 2, A. Ford, Gautschi, Poland, Voigt

Saves
ASU: Hutchinson 7
SDS: Campoli 15

 

#9 Arizona State def. Brown, 15-5
ASU: 5 - 5 - 3 - 2 = 15
BRN: 0 - 1 - 1 - 3 = 5

Goals
ASU: Salloum 4, Harris 3, Smith 2, Baxter, Carter, Leech, Silverberg, Unbehaun, Young
BRN: Presant 2, Booher, Clarke, Mosser

Saves
ASU: Hutchinson 7, Moore 4
BRN: Shin 5