Sun Devil water polo handles CSUB and CSUMB to improve to 14-4
The third-ranked Arizona State University water polo team recovered from a tough loss to No. 1 USC, March 10, with two routs in Bakersfield, Calif., on Sunday to wrap up an eventful weekend of competition.
The Sun Devils (14-4, 2-1 MPSF) dominated CSU Bakersfield, 15-8, in the first conference duel against the Roadrunners in their inaugural season of MPSF action before handling CSU Monterey Bay, 15-3.
ASU will now look toward next weekend where they will travel to Berkeley for a rematch against No. 5 Cal – who ASU defeated earlier this season – in a pivotal MPSF clash on the road.
Recaps of today's action can be found below.
ASU 15, CSU Bakersfield 8
With her scoring held largely in check the past couple weekends considering the numbers she put up last year, some would say senior Alicia Brightwell was due for a big game. She delivered in a big way on Sunday as she led the Sun Devils to a 15-8 decision over CSU Bakersfield in Bakersfield, Calif.
Brightwell found the back of the net five times in the contest – all in the first three quarters – for her second game of the year with five or more goals. Brightwell had six against CSU Northridge earlier this year.
The Australian native had three goals in the first half to help the Sun Devils to an 8-3 advantage over the Roadrunners before adding two goals in the third to put the nail in the coffin as ASU would cruise from there.
E.B. Keeve had 11 saves in three quarters of action for ASU, limiting CSUB to just four goals during her time in the net.Shannon Haas, Gao Ao and Petra Pardi each had two goals while Daisy Carter, Liz Kreek and Kate Enoka all also got on the scorecard with a goal each.
The Sun Devils improved to 2-1 in conference action as they took on the MPSF newcomer CSUB for the first time as an MPSF foe after the Roadrunners joined the league at the start of the season.
ASU 15, CSU Monterey Bay 3
Seniors Alicia Brightwell and Shannon Haas each had hat tricks as the Sun Devils posted an exceptional defensive effort in a 15-3 rout over CSU Monterey Bay to finish off the weekend with a 2-1 record.
Both seniors each had their 11th game of the season with multiple goal performances, accomplishing the feat in each of the Sun Devils' games this weekend. For Brightwell, it was her third game of the weekend with three or more goals and brought her team-leading season total in that category to seven.
The Sun Devils got another solid effort out of redshirt freshmen goalkeeper E.B. Keeve, who had nine saves in three quarters while allowing just two goals.
Daisy Carter and Amanda Young each got in on the action with two goals each while Bella Morrison, Anna Kertes,Makenzy Fowler, Petra Pardi and Gao Ao all found the back of the net as well. ASU improved to 14-4 on the season with the victory and is two wins away from matching the best record through 20 games in program history.