Water polo undefeated after season-opening tournament
The No. 6 Arizona State University women’s water polo team finished up its first weekend of the 2012 season with an unblemished record as the team scored victories over CSU Bakersfield and Concordia (Calif.) on the final day of competition at the UC Santa Barbara Winter Invite in Santa Barbara, Calif., on Sunday. The team went 4-0 in the tournament and logged a victory over UCSB on Friday to start the season with a 5-0 record, its best start since the 2008-09 campaign.
Full recaps of each match are below:
#6 ARIZONA STATE 15, CSU Bakersfield 5
ASU vs. CSU Bakersfield Final Box
The Sun Devils continued to use their model for success in this early 2012 campaign and combined a stifling defense with a potent offense to lead the team a 15-5 rout over CSU Bakersfield in the third match of the UC Santa Barbara Winter Invite on Sunday morning.
Alicia Brightwell paced the team again, finding the back of the net four times while freshman Anna Kertes found her shooting touch in adding three goals.
In total, seven Sun Devils notched goals in the contest, showing off the teams diversity and range on the offensive end of things.
It was the defense that really told the story though, as Ianeta Hutchinson tallied five saves and the Roadrunners managed just five goals on 10 total attempts in the contest.
The victory improved ASU to 4-0 on the season and with just one match remaining in the UCSB Winter Invite.
#6 Arizona State def. CSU Bakersfield, 15-5
ASU – 3-4-4-3 = 15
CSUB – 1-2-1-1 = 5
Goals
ASU: Brightwell 4, Kertes 3, Haas 2, Salloum 2, White 2, Carter, Pardi
CSUB: Shelby, McKenzie, Tsuruda, Hanson, Charlesworth
#6 ARIZONA STATE 16, Concordia 7
ASU vs. Concordia Final Box *Please note the final score in this box is incorrect
Nine Sun Devils scored and the squad limited Concordia in the second half to just two goals as the #6 ASU water polo team improved to 5-0 on a perfect opening weekend of play, defeating the Eagles 15-7 in the final match of the UCSB Santa Barbara Winter Invite.
Freshman Anna Kertes rode the momentum of her three-goal opener against Bakersfield earlier in the day with four goals in the afternoon cap to lead all scorers.
Alicia Brightwell wrapped up her impressive first weekend as a Dun Devil with three more goals to bring her weekend total to 16 over the course of the five games.
Ianetta Hutchinson snagged six saves in the contest in what was a very successful weekend for the sophomore and for the Sun Devils as a whole on the defensive front. After giving up five goals in the first half, ASU held Concordia to just two second-half goals while notching five of their own to pull away down the stretch.
With the victory, ASU is off to its best start since the 2008-09 season, when the team started off 6-0. ASU will be back in action next weekend at the Cal Baptist Tournament in Riverside, Calif., beginning Feb. 4.
#6 Arizona State def. Concordia, 16-7
ASU – 6-4-3-3 = 16
Concordia – 2-3-0-2 = 7
Goals
ASU: Kertes 4, Brightwell 3, Salloum 2, Pardi 2, Carter, Haas, Gao, White, Young
Concordia: Clark 3, Manderino 2, Tsukamoto, Gallegos-Lewis