(Photo Courtesy of Sun Devil Athletics)
LOS ANGELES – Arizona State Water Polo (17-8, 1-5 MPSF) knew it would face the best of the best in MPSF play but the gauntlet they faced over the 2025 season was spectacular. It met a boiling point against the No.1 ranked University of Southern California Trojans (25-1, 4-0 MPSF) Saturday.
The 13 goals the Sun Devils scored would not be enough, as their Californian opposition found the back of the net an astounding 18 times. ASU finished the game strong and additionally was able to aid the score with a four-goal run to end the game on a positive note. This, on top of a solid first quarter, gave the Sun Devils plenty to be proud of.
“I loved the first quarter, it was great. We had a lot of fire in us, then our momentum broke in the second quarter,” ASU Head Coach Petra Pardi said. “We also had a good rally in the last quarter. However, it’s very hard to get momentum back from a team as strong as USC.”
In the impressive first quarter, ASU junior attacker Millie Quin cashed in on three goals, earning a first-half hattrick. All in all, Quin turned in a monstrous nine-point performance with six goals and three assists. Quin’s evolution into one of the best players in the country has been a major bright spot in a less-than-ideal regular season for the Sun Devils.
“She’s an incredible player, she’s a sharp dolphin in the water. I‘m very happy that she had such a great performance because she trains really hard every day,” Pardi said.
Freshman goalkeeper Keri Glad got the start for the Sun Devils between the pipes, a difficult task against such a powerful offense. The Oregon native made an impressive eight saves including multiple point-blank saves on Trojan attackers. Even with a defense that was struggling with USC’s transition game, Glad stood tall and did not let the goal score on her alter her mental state.
“I’ve always struggled with a little bit of confidence, but having to step into this role and everyone is kind of relying on me,” Glad said. “I’m the last person that the ball goes by and having the confidence when a shot goes in, snapping out of it moving on to the next one, making sure everybody else is on the same page.”
The Sun Devils also got nice complementary performances from freshman attacker Itziar Almeda and junior center Sophie Shorter-Robinson. The Spaniard’s vision was on full display as she dished out five assists in addition to her three goals, two of which were no-look snipes. Shorter-Robinson drew multiple exclusions on the Trojans and also had a pair of goals herself. They both helped to steady the Sun Devils as times got tough in the second and third quarters.
“I think we’ve improved a lot in the mental resilience department,” Pardi said. “If you remember, early in the season, we were notorious for starting games very slow. Now we have fixed that, we start games very well and I think we have grown a lot as a team.”
The Sun Devils will have the next week off before the MPSF tournament begins back in Los Angeles. It will provide ASU with a chance to improve the most important aspect of the team, health. It is not a secret that the Sun Devils have dealt with injury issues in the latter part of the season, so their time off should aid them greatly, Pardi believes.
“Unfortunately, we’ve been nursing a lot of injuries throughout the season, so this week off is going to be about making sure that people are good physically for the finale of the season.”
