USC
Arizona State
No. 3 USC Nabs Clutch Win Over No. 4 ASU
March 24, 2012 | Women's Water Polo
March 24, 2012
TEMPE, ARIZ. -- The No. 3 USC women's water polo team brings home a crucial MPSF win in today's 9-7 victory over No. 4 Arizona State. The Trojan defense proved too much for the Sun Devils, as goalie Flora Bolonyai hauled in 13 saves in the game, including six in the final period of play to help USC silence ASU for the win. The Trojans improve to 14-3 overall and take a 3-1 mark in MPSF play with today's victory.
In another expression of deep offensive balance, the Women of Troy spread their scoring among nine different players. Madeline Rosenthal got on the board first with a 6-on-5 strike, and Kaleigh Gilchrist followed a minute later with a blast to take USC to a 2-0 lead early in the first. After an ASU goal brought it back to a one-goal game, Dominique Sardo punched USC ahead 3-1. The Sun Devils closed to 3-2 with a power play goal later in the first, however, and would turn that into a three-goal run to take a 4-3 lead during the second period of play. Then it was USC's turn to make a push, netting back-to-back goals with a score from Chelsea Silvers and one from Eike Daube with 1:34 to go until halftime. ASU again pulled even, and the score stayed locked at 5-5 at the break.
The battle raged on in the third period when Patricia Jancso's go-ahead goal for the Trojans was followed by a 5-meter penalty shot awarded to an converted by the Sun Devils. Now even again at 6-6, USC worked ahead 7-6 on a 5-meter penalty shot of its own, finished off by Monica Vavic, before ASU again found an equalizer to put the teams level at 7-7 going into the final period. That's where Bolonyai got even stricter in the cage. After pinning five saves in the third period, Bolonyai became a wall in the fourth, stopping six more ASU shots while her Trojan offense made the push toward victory. The USC defense stopped an early ASU 6-on-5 opportunity, and would soon after take the lead with a Nadia Dan rocket to go up 8-7 with 4:17 on the clock. Less than a minute later, it was Blair Moody slicing one into the back of the net for some padding that USC had not enjoyed since the first frame. Up 9-7, USC and its stingy defense held strong down the stretch to pocket an important MPSF win over the host Sun Devils.
USC now returns home to McDonald's Swim Stadium to finish off a busy week with a nonconference clash against LMU at 1 p.m. on Sunday (March 25).
#3 USC 9, #4 Arizona State 7
USC 3 - 2 - 2 - 2 = 9
ASU 2 - 3 - 2 - 0 = 7
SCORING:
USC -- Madeline Rosenthal, Kaleigh Gilchrist, Dominique Sardo, Chelsea Silvers, Eike Daube, Patricia Jancso, Monica Vavic, Nadia Dan, Blair Moody.
ASU -- Shannon Haas 3, Ao Gao 2, Kelsey White, Anna Kertes.
SAVES: Flora Bolonyai (USC) 13, Ianeta Hutchinson (ASU) 5
