May 1, 2011

TEMPE – Behind a four-goal performance from senior Lynlee Smith and 11 saves in the goal from rookie Ianeta Hutchinson, the 11th-ranked and eighth-seeded Arizona State University water polo team scored an 11-9 upset of ninth-ranked and seventh-seeded San Diego State to place seventh in the 2011 MPSF Championships that were concluded Sunday in San Jose, Calif. With the victory, ASU’s first in its last 12 conference tournament games, gave the Sun Devils a 12-14 record on the year while the Aztecs finished their season with a 20-15 record.

“In the first half, I thought we were a little too intense,” Head Coach Todd Clapper said. “We settled down in the second half and went out and played the way I thought we played the rest of the weekend. It was very exciting. The nice thing was our defense was consistent all weekend and that’s what is going too keep you in games to win it in the second half. I’m really proud of them. They did a great job all weekend. Ianeta (Hutchinson) did a great job in goal. It’s a great way to finish the season.”

The Sun Devils, for the third time in as many games on the weekend, opened with the first goal of the game as Smith found the back of the cage at the 3:19 mark before SDSU tied the score just 21 seconds later. But, ASU regained the lead under one minute later as Sarah Harris scored at the 2:16 mark for a 2-1 lead. That lead was erased once again with 1:25 remaining as the Aztecs scored again to tie the game at 2-2 through the first quarter.

In the second quarter, the Sun Devils struck first again, this time with goals from Mariam Salloum and Kelsey White to put ASU on top, 4-2, giving them the lead for good. After SDSU scored to make it 4-3, Smith found the back of the net once again with 35 seconds remaining to give ASU a 5-3 lead at the intermission.

SDSU cut the lead to one as the scored first in the third before Nikki Unbehaun tallied a goal at 3:56 to stretch the lead back to two. After another Aztec goal made it 6-5, the Sun Devils scored three times in the last two minutes. First, White notched a goal at 1:38 remaining before a turnover turned into a goal for Smith at 1:20 for an 8-5 lead. Harris scored her second of the game with 38 seconds remaining before SDSU scored with six seconds left to make it 9-6.

The final quarter saw Smith score her fourth goal of the game to open the final quarter to make it 10-6 before SDSU scored once again to make it 10-7. With 4:35 to go, Salloum scored her second of the game to make it 11-7 before the Aztecs netted two more goals, but that ended the scoring with the Sun Devils winning by two goals.

The Sun Devils’ seventh-place finish is their best in the four years the MPSF has been an eight-team league and the second best ever in its MPSF history behind only a sixth-place finish at the 2006 Championships.

#11/#8 Arizona State def. #9/#7 San Diego State, 11-9
ASU: 2 - 3 - 4 - 2 = 11
SDS: 2 - 1 - 3 - 3 = 9

Goals
ASU: Smith 4, Harris 2, Salloum 2, White 2, Unbehaun
SDS: Poland 5, Brady 2, Ford 2

Saves
ASU: Hutchinson 11
SDS: Abrams 7

MPSF Championship Results
#/# indicates national ranking/tournament seed
7th Place - #11/#8 Arizona State def. #9/#7 San Diego State, 11-9
5th Place - #4/#5 USC def. #5/#3 Hawai’i, 8-7
3rd Place - #1/#1 Stanford def. #7/#6 San Jose State, 15-5
1st Place - #2/#2 California def. #3/#4 UCLA, 7-6