USC
Arizona State
Anae's 20 Saves Anchors USC Against ASU
March 14, 2009 | Women's Water Polo
March 14, 2009
LOS ANGELES, CALIF. - The No. 2 USC women's water polo team played out a powerful defensive effort against visiting No. 6 Arizona State. Goalie Tumua Anae and the Trojans defense allowed just two Sun Devil goals in the first three periods on the way to a 15-6 final victory for USC. Anae's career-high 20 saves helped lock down USC's 14th win of the year, while Kami Craig provided a game-high four goals from her two-meter slot to help lead the Women of Troy. USC is now 14-1 overall and 3-0 in MPSF play with today's win at McDonald's Swim Stadium.
The Trojans got out of the gates with a pair of goals from two-meters. Craig opened up the scoring with a strike from set, and Forel Davies finished off an attack begun by a Michelle Stein steal with her first of two goals on the day. Up 2-0, USC saw the Sun Devils score with a 6-on-5 advantage at 5:37, but the Trojans would go on to mount and eight-goal run while the USC defense shut down ASU. Joelle Bekhazi and Alexandra Kiss both slotted nearside 6-on-5 scores for the Trojans during the first period. Stein plugged in two goals before the close of the first, and Davies hit Craig at two-meters for another to get USC ahead 7-1 in the first.
Craig notched her third of the day to open the second period, and Nadia Dan got in on the scoring action with a nearside score on a USC advantage to make it 9-1. Anae tallied six more saves in the second period to help keep the Sun Devils out of the scoring column in the frame. A Kally Lucas steal helped set up USC's 10th goal, tacked up by Kristen Dronberger off a Davies assist at 4:49, and the Davies converted on a USC counterattack before the close of the half to put USC ahead 11-1.
USC's 8-0 run hit a snag in the third when ASU finished off a 6-on-5 midway through the period. But USC would answer with two more goals - a Rosanna Tomiuk-assisted goal from Kiss on a USC power play, and a searing Sarah Van Norman backhand at 1:17 that made it a 13-2 USC lead. Van Norman's goal followed Anae's 15th save of the game. Her 5-on-6 stop set a new career high for the junior, but Anae was not yet done registering saves in the game. Craig hit her fourth goal out of set to open the fourth, only to see ASU generate three straight goals to make it 14-5 with 5:22 to go. The first Sun Devil score was a 5-meter penalty shot that came after another 5-on-6 save from Anae. At 4:49, Dan fired in her third from long range to beat the shot clock buzzer and take USC to a 15-5 lead. ASU got one more 5-meter penalty shot to go to make it 15-6, but Anae had three more saves in her before the final horn to finish out the game with an even 20 saves in the Trojans' MPSF win.
USC now heads to Hawai'i to take on the Rainbow Wahine on Tuesday (March 17) in another MPSF matchup.
#2 USC 15, #6 Arizona State 6
USC 7 - 4 - 2 - 2 = 15
ASU 1 - 0 - 1 - 4 = 6
SCORING:
USC - Kami Craig 4, Forel Davies 2, Michelle Stein 2, Alexandra Kiss 2, Nadia Dan 2, Joelle Bekhazi, Kristen Dronberger, Sarah Van Norman.
ASU - Addison McGrath 3, Lynlee Smith 2, Kelly Phelps.
SAVES: Tumua Anae (USC) 20, Dana Harvey (ASU) 1, Taylor Greenberg (ASU) 4.
