In what was their seniors' final game, the ASU water polo team was unable to come up with an upset in a 11-5 loss to UCLA.
ASU would face off against top-ranked UCLA, but before the game started, a short celebration occurred.
It was senior attacker’s Petra Pardi’s last regular season home game, and would be the only player honored on senior day.
“She's been great,” head coach Todd Clapper said. “I’ve seen her grow from freshman year 'till now, as a player and a person. It’s been a delight. I’m really proud of her. Thankfully we have more games to play, and I’m looking forward to her really leading this team to that next step, and hopefully NCAAs.”
UCLA would win the sprint and gain first possession of the game, but would miss their initial shot attempt. The Bruins would steal the ball back and sprint towards the net, putting one past redshirt junior goalkeeper E.B. Keeve, putting UCLA up 1-0 just one minute into the game.
The Bruins would find their second goal of the game off a lucky ricochet that went in at the 4:50 mark. ASU would try to return the favor, but the shot would bounce off the post, and UCLA would take it the other way.
ASU would find their first goal of the game in the 3:37 mark, with freshman utility Kayla Casas scoring for the Sun Devils. The celebration would be short lived however, as ULCA would score again just a minute later. ASU would hold the top team in the nation to just three goals at the end of the period.
“We created offense every time,” Clapper said. “We weren't able to do that against Stanford. That was the biggest difference. I think the scoreline was similar, but we played a much better game. I went in and I was talking to one of the swim coaches, and he's been here a for a few years and experienced our most success, and he thought the first quarter and a half of the game was the best he has seen ASU play, and I’d have to agree that they really played well. There just some small little details we need to fix.”
UCLA would once again win the sprint and gain first possession to start off the period, but ASU would score less than a minute in the second period, with sophomore center Alkistis Benekou scoring. Keeve would get a big block as UCLA tried to return the favor.
Halfway through the period, ASU would force a bad shot as the shot clock ran out, but the ricochet would end up in UCLA hands, who would quickly put it away, pushing their lead to 4-2. The Bruins would score shortly afterward at the 3:05 mark, extending their lead.
ASU would get a great opportunity as sophomore attacker Izabella Chiappini threw a great skid shot off the water which would be blocked, but ASU would then attempt to tip in the rebound, and again would be thwarted by the UCLA goalie. The Bruins would score again at the 1:27 mark, which would be their final goal of the half. Although UCLA held a healthy four point lead at halftime, the Sun Devils would not be intimidated.
The Sun Devils would continue to find the back of the net elusive, with UCLA goalkeeper keeping all but two of Sun Devil shots at bay.
ASU would win the sprint, but would fight hard for possession, which would end up in a jump ball. ASU would win the jump, and gain the first possession of the second half. ULCA would score yet again less than a minute into the period, extending their lead to five. Pardi would fight back, scoring her own goal for the Sun Devils at the 4:48 mark.
UCLA would score two goals in quick succession in the end of the third period, leading ASU 9-3. Chiappini would score her second goal of the game with a minute and a half remaining in the third period in an effort to combat the ever growing deficit the Sun Devils found themselves in. The Bruins would score 20 seconds after Chiappini’s goal, and then again with just seven seconds remaining in the period to lead 11-4 with only one quarter left to play.
“Their goalie is a real strength for them,” Clapper said. “We knew that going into the game. You have to create an offensive opportunity each time, and then you have to play great defense, and eventually stuff is going to go in. We scored five goals. Easily we created enough six on fives, could have easily been six, seven, or eight, and now it just comes down to defense. So we are scoring enough goals. If we played defense we could have won five to four, for sure.”
ULCA would win the sprint in the final period of play, gaining first possession. Halfway through the period, Keeve would get another big block, which started a fast break for the Sun Devils. Chiappini would sprint down the pool and wind up for a big shot, which found the back of the net. This goal would be the last of the game, as ASU desperately tried to come back, but to no avail. Keeve would get another big block with 3:22 remaining in the game, but it was too little, too late. The Bruins would take all of their started our in the final minutes of the game, with UCLA getting a resounding 11-5 win.
“I thought that for the greater portion of the game, both offensively and defensively we did a nice job,” Clapper said. “There were some lapses in the details, in a shot block, or an offensive possession. Maybe we were tired, just not focussed, its just little details. On the counter attacks sometimes we were watching the shot, getting beat, but we were able to defend, six on six and five on six, and we were able to create a good opportunity on offense each time.”
Although the team was unable to give a win to Pardi on senior day, she is looking forward to the reminder of the season, and has high hopes for the team.
“This game definitely meant a lot,” Pardi said. “I was little emotional about this game and I was happy about the goal, but it’s not about me scoring, its about the team scoring and winning. I absolutely loved my time here at ASU. It was a great experience and an amazing journey, I feel like I came a long way thanks to coach Todd. He fixed up a lot of my bad habits and mistakes, and I feel like I have grown a lot as a player and as a person both.”
Reach the reporter at mtsteine@asu.edu or follow him on Twitter @MarcTSteiner
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