(Courtesy of Sun Devil Athletics)
TEMPE – A young and vibrant Arizona State Sun Devils (9-3, 0-1 MPSF) team hung around against both an experienced and elite UCLA (7-1, 1-0) squad on Sunday before the Bruins came away victorious after an elite first half. No. 3 UCLA entered Tempe with a swagger that would benefit itself as the defending national champions.
UCLA was anchored by an older group of elite players, and redshirt junior attacker Emma Lineback led the way. She sat out last season and trained with the U.S. National Team ahead of the 2024 Olympics, but on Sunday, she found the back of the net four times. She would not be outdone by freshman attacker Jojo Walter, who also scored four times. The eight combined goals from Walter and Lineback would equal the tally for ASU.
In the second half, UCLA distanced themselves from ASU with a quick three-goal run in which it scored on three consecutive possessions. ASU Head Coach Petra Pardi made it a point of emphasis for her team to continue sticking tight with UCLA, but eventually, the Bruins star power took over.
“In the beginning of the second half and the third quarter they really got up on us and took us by surprise, the intensity and the energy was so impressive,” Pardi said. “Unfortunately, we let them slip away in those first three or four minutes and it’s hard to climb back after that against such a strong team.”
ASU began the second quarter with a one-goal advantage after junior attacker Millie Quin beat UCLA’s sophomore goalkeeper, Joey Niz on a five-meter skip shot. Once the second quarter began, UCLA started pressing out the ball carrier whenever ASU moved the ball into the offensive side of the pool. This pressing gave the Sun Devils complications and allowed the Bruins to create turnovers which allowed them to play a transition style of water polo more suited to its experienced team.
“We knew we expected the press and we specifically prepped for it all week. It is not to find a magical solution against the UCLA very hard press in a week,” Pardi said. “We are going to see them potentially at the Irvine tournament in two weeks’ time, and then we will see them at the MPSF championships as well.”
Later in the game, ASU was able to turn the tables on UCLA and began to find its rhythm in transition. Quin finished off her hat trick and even with the game practically out of reach, ASU had found a style of play that was working against one of the premier programs in the country.
“I’m very excited that the girls in that department, paid attention focused and we were able to create on that, especially against UCLA,” Pardi said. “That I would say is probably the fastest team in the country.”
Amongst the other positives was freshman goalie Keri Glad who was thrust into the starting position after an injury to the usual starter, junior Sanne Keijzer forced her to be ruled out. Glad kept ASU in the game in the first half with numerous impressive saves.
“She showed us today why she was recruited for that job in the first place, the whole team has full trust, and Keri she’s an incredible goalie,” Pardi said. “She’s only a freshman so [we are] very excited to see how she’s going to mature throughout the season and the coming years.”
UCLA would eventually defeat ASU 12-8 but the impressive showings from the underclassmen combined with simple mental mistakes and growing pains expected with a younger team, gave the Sun Devils plenty to feel confident about as they head into MPSF play.
“Obviously, it’s still early in the season so we are continuing to develop. We continue to progress and fix the reasons why we didn’t win today.”
