Water polo edged by Hawaii, finishes sixth at Stanford Invite

 Despite Mariam Salloum scoring four goals in a game for the second time in as many days, the No. 8 Arizona State University water polo team lost a closely contested game with No. 5 Hawaii in the fifth-place game at the Stanford Invitational on Sunday afternoon, falling, 9-7, to finish sixth in the eight-team event. With the loss, the Sun Devils stand 1-3 on the year with losses to No. 1 Stanford, No. 3 California and No. 5 UH while the Rainbow Wahine stand 3-2 on the season.

UH held a 1-0 lead through the first quarter of play and built that into a 3-1 lead at halftime. Another low-scoring quarter in the third made it 5-2 in favor of the Wahine before both teams exploded for nine total goals in the final stanza, including from the Sun Devils.

Offensively, Salloum’s four goals led the way, two games after she posted four against No. 9 San Jose State. Also scoring the Sun Devils in the game were Shannon Haas, who netted a pair, and Kelsey White with one. Defensively, Ianeta Hutchinson recorded eight saves in the loss.

For the weekend, Salloum led all Sun Devils with eight total goals with Haas netting six. Sarah Harris (five), Lynlee Smith (three) and White (three) each had multiple goals for ASU while Becca Clopp and Bella Morrison each added one in the tournament.

The Sun Devils will return to the road next weekend for a pair of games, including a rematch with No. 3 Cal in an MPSF contest in Berkeley on Saturday at 5:30 p.m. PT before heading to Seaside, Calif., on Sunday for an 11 a.m. PT game with CS Monterey Bay.

#5 Hawaii def. #8 Arizona State, 9-7
AS - 0 - 1 - 1 - 5 = 7
UH - 1 - 2 - 2 - 4 = 9

Goals
AS: Salloum 4, Haas 2, White
UH: C. Eggens 2, M. Eggens 2, Majuri 2, Genee, Lewis, McKee

Saves
AS: Hutchinson 8
UH: Bredin 10