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Late Rally Falls Short for Water Polo

by thesundevils.com
Apr 4, 2021

BERKELEY, CALIF.-- Arizona State water polo was unable to bounce back after their first road loss of the season yesterday, and was defeated 5-3 by No. 6 Cal (7-4, 2-4) on Sunday. ASU (11-6, 5-3) was held scoreless through three quarters, and despite a late fourth quarter rally from Amira Van Buren, Blaire McDowell and Luca Petovary, the Sun Devils fell short.  

In one of the lowest scoring games for either team this season, the defenses showed out. Neither team was able to capitalize on power play opportunities, both combining for 0-13 on the day. Chelsea Karimazondo got the start at goalie for the Sun Devils, and tallied nine saves and held Cal to five goals on 27 shots, a 0.185 shooting percentage. 

McDowell's goal in the final seconds extended her scoring streak to nine straight games which is now the longest on the team. McDowell also went 4-0 in each quarter's sprint to give the Sun Devils the opening possession in all four quarters. The Sun Devils are now 5-3 in Mountain Pacific Sports Federation conference play, and dropped to 0-2 on the road. 

Up Next: Arizona State will return home to Mona Plummer to host a pair of conference games against No. 3 UCLA. They will play at 11:30 a.m. MST on 4/10 and 9:30 a.m. MST on 4/11. Both games will be viewable via the Arizona State Live Stream. 

ASU 3, California 5
HOW IT HAPPENED:

  • ASU was unable to get on the board in the first, and Cal took a 3-0 lead into the second quarter. 
  • McDowell won possession in the first and second quarter sprints, to give the Sun Devils the starting possession in both quarters.
  • Both teams were scoreless in the second quarter.
  • Cal's lead remained 3-0 at the half.
  • The third quarter was quiet for ASU, and Cal added a goal to their lead and were up 4-0 heading into the fourth.
  • Van Buren got the Sun Devils on the board at the 7:33 mark in the fourth quarter to cut the Cal lead 4-1. 
  • Petovary scored with 6:39 left in the fourth to make it a two goal game. 
  • Cal added a goal in the final minutes of the fourth to extend their lead to 5-2. 
  • With 0:26 left in the fourth, McDowell put one in the net to cut the lead back to two, but the Sun Devils fell just short.

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