Arizona State upsets Bruin water polo in conference opener
By Daily Bruin
March 3, 2013 11:25 p.m.
After UCLA beat Arizona State a week ago to take third place at the UC Irvine Invitational, the Bruins traveled to Tempe, Ariz. Sunday to take on the Sun Devils again – this time to open up 2013 Mountain Pacific Sports Federation play.
UCLA lost to Arizona State 7-6, giving the Sun Devils their first win against the Bruins in the program’s history.
Players said that they expected the Sun Devils to come out restored and ready for the Bruins.
This match was different in many aspects from the last time they played, and sophomore attacker Emily Donohoe said that these changes, put together, led to the outcome of the match.
“Last week, we played them at the end of the tournament so we were all tired,” Donohoe said. “But this is a conference game and it was at ASU, so they came out strong and we, unfortunately, didn’t match the intensity of the whole game.”
The Sun Devils also made improvements in their defense, allowing the Bruins to score only six goals, compared to 14 last week.
UCLA got on the scoreboard first with a close-range goal from Donohoe. Before the end of the first quarter, the Sun Devils tied the game 1-1.
The Bruins’ offense answered with three more goals in the second quarter while the Sun Devils only scored one, giving UCLA the lead 4-2 by the end of the first half.
But it was Arizona State who was able to maintain composure, ultimately taking the match 7-6.
With this loss, UCLA drops to 16-3 (0-1, MPSF).
Compiled by Susana Vasquez, Bruin Sports contributor.
