March 28, 2009
TEMPE, Ariz. - After one day of play at the ASU Invitational the No. 20 Santa Clara women's water polo team fell to two ranked opponents at the Mona Plummer Aquatic Center in Tempe, Ariz. In their first contest of the two-day tournament, SCU fell to No. 9 UC Irvine 9-7 in the morning. After dropping the close contest to the Anteaters in their weekend opening game, the Broncos returned to the pool to avenge their morning loss. In a back-and-forth game, No. 8 Arizona State got the best of Santa Clara in an 11-10 overtime victory.
"I am happy with the way we played today against two top-10 teams," said head coach Keith Wilbur. "We came out and played four or more strong periods against two solid teams and look to bounce back tomorrow."
In the 9-7 loss to No. 9 UCI, 2-meter defender Rochelle Stowe provide both offensive and defensive prowess for Santa Clara. Stowe tallied two-goals, leading the SCU offensive attack, and drew a kick out. Marina Allen, Kendal Hildebrand, Allie Lamb, Amy Lamb and Claire Linney each posted a goal apiece. Linney also tacked on a steal and a kick out in the game, and Meg Zimmerman had two kick outs drawn and a 5-meter penalty. Goalie Wren White posted six blocks and three steals in the cage.
After falling by two to the Anteaters, SCU battled back-and-forth against hosts No. 8 ASU for the overtime six-period game. After leading 9-8 in the final quarter of regulation, the Sun Devils came back with the nine-all tying goal to send the game into overtime. The Broncos took an immediate overtime lead with a goal in the first extra period, but SCU's defense could not keep Arizona State at bay and they came back on a 2-0 run to prevent the Broncos from posting a victory on the day.
Stowe once again led the Broncos on all ends of the ball with four steals and two goals. Zimmerman had two goals and two kick outs in the game, and sophomore Taylor Harkins scored a team-leading three goals in the game. Am. Lamb posted two goals and two kick outs, and Jenny Knutson tallied two steals against ASU.
The Broncos return to the pool to face off with California Baptist at 8:15 a.m. and California Lutheran, who is No. 3 in the Division III polls, at 12:35 p.m. on Sunday, March 29.
No. 20 Santa Clara 7, No. 9 UC Irvine 9
Goals - Al. Lamb - 1, Stowe - 2, Allen - 1, Am. Lamb - 1, Hildebrand - 1, Linney - 1
Steals - Allen - 1, Am. Lamb - 1, Linney - 1, Harkins - 2, White - 3
Kick Outs Drawn - Stowe - 1, Am. Lamb - 1, Zimmerman - 2, Hildebrand - 1, Linney - 1
5-M Penalty - Zimmerman - 1
Blocks - White - 6
No. 20 Santa Clara 10, No. 8 Arizona State 11
Goals - Stowe - 2, Am. Lamb - 2, Zimmerman - 2, Linney - 1, Harkins - 3
Steals - Stowe - 4, Knutson - 2, Linney - 4, Harkins - 1
Kick Outs Drawn - Am. Lamb - 2, Zimmerman - 2, Linney - 1
Blocks - White - 9
