No. 1 USC women's water polo was effective on offense and defense while No. 9 ASU struggled with the shot clock and crossbar all game, resulting in an 8-3 victory for the Trojans.
ASU hung in the game in the first half, and had a chance in the fourth period, but the USC defense just would not let up.
In the first period, USC struck first with two early goals. The Trojan defense played with a tactic of keeping the ball on the outsides to limit close shots from the center by ASU.
The Sun Devils broke through when redshirt senior defender Ao Gao rifled home a shot from senior attacker Daisy Carter to cut the deficit to one goal.
Later in the first period, Sun Devil redshirt sophomore goalie Mia Rycraw made some solid saves and continued her performance throughout the match as she tried to keep her team in the game.
ASU almost broke through toward the end of the period when sophomore attacker Lena Mihailovic received a break-away pass from Rycraw and had a hard shot off the crossbar which looked like a goal, but the official ruled it did not break the plain.
In the second period, USC continued its tough defense and scored another goal. However, Carter was able to respond with a goal of her own via a tipped shot that just trickled in the net.
USC junior driver Stephania Haralabidis countered back with a goal that sent USC into halftime with a two-goal lead.
The score at halftime was 4-2 USC.
ASU's offense struggled against the shot clock throughout the game, and the issue continued into the second half as they often were unable to get a shot off possession after possession.
In the third period, ASU was unable to score, even though they were able to put a few shots on net. The cross bar often denied the Sun Devils, and USC freshman goalie Amanda Longan was on her game. She stopped numerous high-percentage shots.
USC, carried by its strong defense and effective offense, carried a 6-2 lead into the 4th quarter.
Once again, the Trojans won the sprint and ended up winning all four sprints of the contest.
Sprints give the team that wins the ball a chance to create momentum by starting off the quarter with possession.
After some good scoring chances by the Sun Devils, freshman attacker Maud Koopman broke through with a precise shot from distance. The score narrowed to 6-3 Trojans with about three and a half minutes left.
ASU got another good chance to climb back in when the Trojans conceded a penalty shot, but Mihailovic's shot ricocheted off the cross bar.
USC's offense took it from there. They went on to clinch the game by scoring two late goals and ending ASU's hope of upsetting the No. 1 team in the nation.
USC proved why they are the best team in the country, as ASU repeatedly could not get shots off on offense. The USC goal-scoring strategy proved effective and efficient as they hung eight goals on the Sun Devils, dropping ASU's record to 7-4 while the Trojans remain undefeated.
ASU will look to get back on track when they take on CSU Bakersfield at 11:00 am at their home pool, Mona Plummer Aquatic Center, on March 12th.
Reach the reporter at Graham.Paul@asu.edu or follow @GrahamASUpress on Twitter.
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