The No. 10 Arizona State Water Polo team (12-11) begins postseason play this weekend at the 2019 MPSF Championships in Palo Alto, Calif. The Sun Devils (No. 6 seed in the tournament) open play on Friday when they face No. 3 seed UCLA at 12:45 p.m. PT/MST.
"In our last game, we had some really strong moments, particularly on offense," ASU head coach
Todd Clapper said. "I think that we are playing good water polo, but it can be hard when you don't see the win. I believe in this team and what they have put into this season so I am looking forward to the games this weekend."
The 2019 MPSF Championships will showcase a field of five of the Top-10 teams in the nation. This weekend's matchups will be hosted by Stanford University and the matches will all take place at the Avery Aquatics Center. For more specific tournament details, go to Stanford's website to get information on how to purchase tickets, follow the event live and directions to the event.
ASU sets up for the second face-off against the Bruins this season, with the first match taking place in Tempe featuring a Top-10 clash that went down to the wire. ASU supplied an early lead against the No. 3 Bruins to begin the match, trading goals throughout the first and second period, before falling, 12-9. Junior
Bente Rogge was a major catalyst on the offensive end for ASU, as she contributed one of her five hat tricks from the regular season. Sophomore
Amira Van Buren proved to be a difference maker as well in the attack, notching two goals in the contest to record her fourth multi-score game in 2019. This game also marks the second straight year the teams will square off in the MPSF Tournament as the Sun Devils faced the Bruins in last year's quarterfinals.
"I think everyone knows that we have had some good moments in big games and that we are playing well and confident that we will put things together this weekend," Clapper said. "Everyone also knows that we have nothing to lose, so we can go in confident and without stress."
The winner of Friday's contest will face the winner of the contest between two seed USC and seven seed Indiana on Saturday at 12:45 p.m. Arizona State will continue play Saturday regardless of the quarterfinal result. A consolation match will take place on Saturday at 11 a.m.
Senior
Maud Koopman continues to inch herself closer to history after a stellar performance in last weekend's contest in which she totaled three goals. With her consistent play all season long, Koopman is now just four goals away from entering the Top-3 all-time scoring list in Sun Devil Water Polo history.
"It is hard to put into words what Maud (Koopman) has done for ASU, her teammates, and me," Clapper said. "She is another coach in the water. She works so hard every day to be the best that she can be. Outside of the pool, she is a tremendously caring teammate. We have been lucky to have her with the program for 4 years."
TOP FIVE CAREER GOALS SCORED
1. 237 Addison McGrath, 2006-09
2. 200 Shannon Haas, 2010-13
3. 175
Alkistis Benekou, 2014-18
4. 172 Maud Koopman, 2016-present
5. 159 Alicia Brightwell, 2012-13
The Semifinals will begin Saturday, with the first match scheduled to take place at 12:45 p.m. and the second semifinal to follow at 2:30 p.m. Sunday will feature a championship match to be played at 3 p.m., while a fifth-place contest is set for an 11 a.m. start time and a third-place game to follow at 1 p.m.
2019 MPSF CHAMPIONSHIP TOURNAMENT
Friday, April 26
Game 1: No. 2 seed USC vs. No. 7 seed Indiana, 11:00 am
Game 2: No. 3 seed UCLA vs.
No. 6 seed Arizona State, 12:45 pm
Game 3: No. 4 seed California vs. No. 5 seed San Jose State, 2:30 pm
Saturday, April 27
Game 4: Loser Game 1 vs. Loser Game 2, 11:00 am
Game 5: Winner Game 1 vs. Winner Game 2 (Semifinal), 12:45 pm
Game 6: No. 1 seed Stanford vs. Game 3 Winner (Semifinal), 2:30 pm
Sunday, April 28
Game 7: Loser Game 3 vs. Winner Game 4 (Fifth Place Game), 11:00 am
Game 8: Loser Game 5 vs. Loser Game 6 (Third Place Game), 1:00 pm
Game 9: Semifinal Winners (Championship), 3:00 pm
Follow the action all weekend long, as fans can subscribe to watch live on
http://www.mpsports.org/watch/ or keep up to date with live stats from the event on
TheFosh.net.
