Sun Devils Take Down Indiana For First MPSF Win

(Photo Courtesy of Sun Devil Athletics)

Behind junior attacker Millie Quin’s seven goals and a dominant fourth quarter, the Arizona State women’s water polo team (17-5, 1-2 MPSF) overwhelmed No. 10 Indiana (16-7, 0-3 MPSF) 16-11 to sweep the season series and earn its first conference victory.

Following an 18-12 loss to top-ranked Stanford (14-0, 1-0 MPSF), ASU was desperate for a bounceback game. The Sun Devils immediately got on the board Saturday with junior center Sophie Shorter-Robinson backhanding a shot into the top right corner of the goal just 50 seconds in before Quin snuck backside on the very next possession to give ASU a quick 2-0 lead.

Indiana responded quickly with junior attacker Louisa Downes capitalizing on a 6-on-5 after an exclusion on sophomore attacker Kat Featherstone. Throughout a back-and-forth first period, the Sun Devils intent was clear – get the ball inside to Shorter-Robinson and Quin and let them work.

Quin fired in her second goal from the left wing before capping off the opening eight minutes with another score to put ASU up 4-3. The final goal of the quarter, a gorgeous give-and-go between her and freshman attacker Itziar Almeida where Quin cut inside to get a clean look, epitomized the Sun Devils’ strategy entering this matchup.

“We wanted to play with a lot of movement. We wanted to play with a lot of takes to create these matches for our centers and get the defender off of their backs,” ASU head coach Petra Pardi said. “It just so worked out that Millie came open a lot of those times because they did not want to switch their defender.”

The Hoosiers began the second quarter by knotting the game up with a simple lob over freshman goalie Keri Glad but Quin was unwavering as ASU’s rock in this matchup, countering each Indiana goal with her own answer. The junior added two more goals to her tally before halftime, getting into the teeth of the defense both times before skipping a shot into the back of the net.

The attention on Quin opened up opportunities for others as Almeida cashed in a goal from straight on to stretch ASU’s lead to 7-5 but the Sun Devils had a sloppy end to the half with Quin fumbling a pass inside that led to a transition Hoosier goal in the waning moments of the period.

The moments immediately after halftime were the most crucial for ASU and it was able to maintain its advantage throughout the third period simply by continuing what had worked in the first half. Shorter-Robinson fired one in from inside and Quin found Almeida on the right wing after a steal spurred a transition possession.

Indiana still kept it close, scoring a goal on a possession where two Sun Devil defenders received exclusions and another after an ASU offensive foul that left the Hoosiers with a numbers advantage. Keeping its lead, however, was what was most important to this match.

“If you also watch our stats, we are not a good third quarter team,” Pardi said. “If you think back to our loss to UCLA, for example, that’s where the energy stepped away from us and I think it left a big hole. That’s something that we’ve been focusing on a lot mentally, to reset in that halftime model, to never be in that situation again.”

The Hoosiers began the fourth with a goal the full length of the pool but ASU was finally able to gain the separation following that moment. Junior 2-meter defender Zoe Frangieh leaked out in transition to add to the lead before Almeida and Quin piled on. The highlight of the match, though, came on the defensive side of the pool.

Early in the fourth, Glad saved four straight shots in a single possession including two 1v1 chances when the game was tied and Indiana was looking to turn the momentum back to their side.

“Yeah, [Glad’s] amazing. She stepped up, she’s great at communicating, and with those blocks she’s constantly saving us when the defense doesn’t go as well as planned,” Quin said.

Glad sent the Sun Devil bench into a frenzy with Pardi fist pumping vicariously on the sideline, and ASU outscored the Hoosiers 6-1 the rest of the game.

“I think I was having an out of body experience,” Pardi said. “Within the span of five seconds, she saved four shots. It was just advantage after advantage, and she had no chance of saving them. But Keri was everywhere and that really just goes to show the kind of goalie that she is.”

A commonality in the Sun Devils losses this year was taking fewer shots per game, but both ASU and Indiana registered 34 shots. The Sun Devils constantly created turnovers, with 16 steals that often led to advantageous positions and cleaner shots on goal.

“Water polo is all about defense. You can’t have offense without defense,” Quin said. “We really needed to have those key moments, stop the ball and really come together as a team, keeping our heads up on defense, not letting them counter.”

ASU had recorded a 14-12 overtime win against Indiana earlier this year but the separation in the second half of this contest was closer to what they expected in the first outing.

“It’s a game that we expected to win to be quite frank with you,” Pardi said. “Last time we played them, we played them too close.I know my team’s ability, and I knew that last time, that game shouldn’t be as close as it was.”

No. 8 ASU will take on No. 18 San Jose State (11-9, 0-2 MPSF) next week in Tempe in another conference matchup.