ASU Water Polo dominates in day one of the Cross Conference Invitational

Lede 1: TEMPE-Arizona State Water Polo was able to spread the offense around throughout day one of the Cross Conference Invitational.

The No. 10 Sun Devils (11-3, 0-1) rattled off two double-digit wins against Salem and Long Island in Mona Plummer Aquatic Center. They beat the Tigers 17-7 in the morning before taking the Sharks down 20-9 in the afternoon. The team had at least 10 players scoring in both games.

“I didn’t realize that we had 13 different goal scorers,” head coach Petra Pardi said. “It’s great, shows our team’s ability to score and that it is a team sport and we can distribute the ball well.”

In the first match against Salem, ASU scored 17 goals from 13 players, showing the depth of the team. The depth proved that it was not a fluke, as the team scored 20 goals from 10 players in the second game.

In the first match against Salem, the Sun Devils were a little sloppy on offense scoring only two goals. The team was unable to get quality shots off.

“The expectation was we start out very hot and we finish very hot and focus on the small things and the details,” Pardi said. “We didn’t accomplish that against Salem.”

The Sun Devils looked a bit better against Long Island, cleaning up most of the little things. One thing that was not the case was that ASU allowed its first two goals on Sharks penalty shots, with the third Long Island goal coming on a quick shot after a rebound from a penalty shot. ASU will have to clean up those small details against tougher conference opponents later in the year.

Despite some issues, the ASU offense shined throughout the day. Junior attacker Millie Quin added six goals to her team-leading total of 39 on the year. Freshman attacker Itziar Almeda added four goals to her impressive first collegiate season.

“We’ve been working on our spacing,” junior center Sophie Shorter-Robinson said. “I think making sure we’re spreading out so that I can do my job for the team and being able to score those goals.”

The ASU defense was solid. The team stole nine balls in each game which is slightly above average. Thirteen different players recorded a steal.

“We were trying to press as much as possible,” Pardi said. “It’s a very nuanced defense and we still have a lot of gaps to work on to make sure it’s perfect by next weekend ideally.”

ASU played three different goalies today. Most notably junior goalie Sanne Keijzer did not play as she was not dressed but supported her teammates on the bench. Pardi did not comment on Keijzer’s absence from the pool.

“[We wanted them] to get experience and see how deep we are,” Pardi said. “I was very happy that we were able to accomplish that.”

Freshman goalies Ashley Byron and Keri Glad played chunks of the games, and both had save percentages in the forties. However, senior goalie Marie Rudasics played most of the day and had over a 70% save percentage.

“All three of the goalies I think did a really good job,” Pardi said.

The Sun Devils look to go undefeated in the Cross Conference Invitational with games against Cal State Fullerton and Iona tomorrow.

“In these games it’s great, we get to play around,” Shorter-Robinson said. “Everyone gets the opportunity to score.”

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