ASU water polo couldn't manage a win on the first day of the MPSF Tournament Friday, falling 5-4.
With the weather being spotty, with rain patches happening throughout the day, the Sun Devils would take on Cal. The game would be the final game of the first day of the MPSF Tournament.
The weather would be fine at the start of the game, with warm temperatures and the sun beating down on the pool.
The Sun Devils would start off the first period by winning the sprint, gaining the first possession of the game.
Freshman attacker Lena Mihailovic scored the first goal of the game as time was running out on the shot clock on the first possession, putting the Sun Devils up by one to start the game. Cal however would quickly return the favor on the next possession, tying the game at one in the first minutes of the game.
Redshirt junior goalkeeper E.B. Keeve would show her defensive prowess, as she blocked all but one shot attempt by Cal in the first quarter. The first quarter would end tied 1-1, as both teams would be unable to score after the first two minutes of the game.
ASU would again win the sprint to start off the second quarter, gaining the first poison of the quarter. Cal would score at the 3:44 mark in the second quarter, giving them a one-point lead. This would be the only goal of the period, and both teams would head to the locker room, with Cal holding onto a one-point lead at halftime.
Cal would gain the first possession of the second half as they would win the sprint. The Golden Bears would score a trio of goals in quick succession, extending their lead to 5-1 with 5:30 left to play in the quarter.
“The defense was really good,” head coach Todd Clapper said. “There were a few moments where they scored two or three pretty quickly. Other than that stretch where we just kind of broke down, it was a really good defensive effort. I think E.B. (Keeve) played a solid game in the goal. The defense in front of her was good. Our press was good when we pressed. So I think overall that was good except for that few minute stretch.”
Due to the high-octane scoring displayed by Cal in the third quarter, the Sun Devils would be hard-pressed to come back from this blow, and were not able to recover.
Cal won the sprint, gaining the first possession of the final period of play.
Freshman utility Kayla Casas scored ASU’s second goal with a little over four minutes remaining in the game.
As the game began to seem out of reach, Cal would get a fast break with only the goalie to beat, but Keeve would block the shot. The Sun Devils would be off to the races, and sophomore attacker Izabella Chiappini would score her first goal of the game. ASU would then be awarded a five-meter penalty on the next possession, which would be taken by Chiappini. She would score, cutting the deficit to just one, with 28 seconds remaining in regulation.
“It felt good to score, but it didn't help," Chiappini said. "It wasn't enough.”
As the final seconds ran out, ASU would desperately try to gain possession of the ball, but to no avail. ASU would suffer heartbreaking 5-4 loss to Cal.
“Our offense wasn't really good because we were scared to shoot, but the defense was really good,” Chiappini said. “We only allowed five goals.”
Chiappini wasn't the only one who saw that the team was struggling offensively.
“I think the biggest problem was on the offensive end,” Clapper said. “As soon as there is no pressure any more, we play completely different on offense. We are looser. We’re playing. and we cant play like that until the game is somewhat out of reach, we have to play a littler looser on offense at the beginning, and fight a little but harder.”
The Sun Devils would be granted multiple six on five opportunities throughout the game, but did not capitalize on the advantage.
“Cal did a nice job of pressuring the people that they needed to, and unfortunately in those situations, kind of paused our six on fives, instead of being able to play through the pressure,” Clapper said. “It allowed them then to cover up from where they were cheating from some places, and so allowed them then to cover up on the pass, because under the pressure we kind of dropped a little bit, rather than staying up...We just had a hard time in the moment when we needed to and we broke down the defense, finding them with the ball.”
ASU would keep the game interesting with their late rally, but it ultimately would not be enough.
“I think going into the fourth quarter, we knew, and we talked about it every quarter break, that we had to fight harder on offense,” Clapper said. I saw it about five minutes or so left in the fourth, I saw a different team. We started getting some opportunities...If you keep attacking and you keep playing loose and you keep the press on offensively and you're confident, then the ball is going to go into the goal. That was the biggest difference. It just took three quarters to get it.”
Reach the reporter at mtsteine@asu.edu or follow him on Twitter @MarcTSteiner
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