The No. 10 Arizona State Sun Devils (16-4, 0-1) had a chance to affirm their spot as one of the premier teams in the country at the Barbara Kalbus Invitational in Irvine this past weekend. An opening match loss against Long Beach State would ensure the Sun Devils would not face the elite teams at the tournament but exciting games against both familiar and future opponents would follow.
No. 10 ASU 8, No. 8 LBSU 19
ASU opened the tournament with a top-10 clash against a solid LBSU squad. Both teams struggled against teams ranked higher than them, LBSU was 0-5 against top-6 teams and ASU was not much better at 0-2. Nonetheless, it would be a great chance for both teams to take a giant step in proving themselves as real contenders.
The Sun Devils started off hot, leading at halftime 6-4. ASU was doing a great job of controlling the game and was in the midst of getting an amazing performance from one of its team leaders, junior attacker Millie Quin. LSBU would not go down without a fight however, storming back, outshooting the Sun Devils 5-1 in the third quarter. The fourth quarter was more of the same and an LBSU avalanche resulted in 10 goals in the final period of action giving them a dominant 19-8 win over its fellow top-10 team.
Quin led the way for ASU with four goals and an assist, meaning she had involvement in more than half of the team’s goals. Freshman attacker Itziar Almeda also added a pair of goals continuing her elite first year in Tempe. Freshman goalkeeper Keri Glad made 13 saves in the contest, an indicator that the game could have gotten even more out of hand than it did for ASU.
No. 10 ASU 16, Biola (Calif.) 9
After a tough loss the day prior, ASU had a chance to get back on track against a familiar opponent, Biola. The Sun Devils defeated Biola 19-5 earlier in the season at the Hawaii Invitational and would look for the same result on Saturday.
Biola drew first blood before ASU scored the next nine goals and entered the half with a 9-1 lead. A third-quarter outburst from the opponent, like the one in the game prior, occurred once again as Biola found the back of the net eight times in the third quarter cutting the Sun Devil lead to four going into the final period of play. Three more goals gave the Sun Devils the cushion they would need to coast through the rest of the game with the score finishing 16-9 in favor of ASU.
ASU got goal contributions from 12 different players, a clear point of emphasis against a struggling team like Biola. Sophomore attacker Alison Kokorowski had a team-high three goals on just three shots. Redshirt junior 2-meter defender Molly Glad added two more goals moving her season total to 17.
No. 10 ASU 14, No. 17 Indiana 12 (OT)
ASU had the chance to grab a second win in a row against fellow MPSF side, Indiana. The Hoosiers were defeated in their opening game by No. 3 Hawaii, a squad the Sun Devils had also lost to, before winning in overtime against UC Santa Barbara heading into their game against ASU.
As has been the theme in the games this past weekend, ASU was in control in the first half leading 6-4 at the break. IU stormed back outsourcing ASU by one in each quarter leaving the two teams tied after the fourth period came to a close. Overtime was going to be needed to find a winner and it was Almeda who stepped up for ASU scoring two consecutive goals to give the Sun Devils a major victory.
Quin had one of the best games of her esteemed ASU career beating the IU goalkeeper an impressive six times and assisting on two more. The aforementioned Almeda had four goals of her own and also added an assist. The two ASU stars would not be denied and willed its team across the finish line. ASU and IU will face off in Tempe on March 22nd in MPSF play.
No. 10 ASU 17, No. 14 Loyola Marymount 15 (OT)
ASU found themselves in its second overtime clash of the weekend against a familiar foe in the final game of the tournament. ASU took down LMU in overtime in Hawaii a month ago and an extra period would be needed on Sunday as well.
Once again, ASU led at halftime before its opponent stormed back, this time score read 9-6 at the half. LMU’s potent offense took control in the final two periods in which it scored nine times tying things up with zeros on the clock. Just like on Saturday, Almeda stepped up for the Sun Devils scoring twice while junior goalkeeper Sanne Keijzer shut the door on the LMU offense shutting them out in the overtime period.
Almeda’s two goals in overtime were her fourth and fifth of the game, another impressive showing from the Spaniard. Quin also found the back of the net five times, she continues to make a push for player of the year in the MPSF conference. The unsung hero however was freshman attacker Hannah McClaskey who had four goals for the Sun Devils in this one.
ASU is back in action on March 8th when the No. 1 ranked Stanford Cardinal travels to Tempe.
