The Arizona State Sun Devils (2-0) returned to the water on Saturday for their first test of the season taking on Cal Lutheran (0-2).
ASU wasted no time getting on the board thanks to senior attacker Luca Petovary who potted her first goal of the season just 06:44 into the game.
It was apparent Arizona State had a game plan to pressure the Regals into giving away the ball. The Sun Devils did not allow CLU any time or space to set up an attack.
The Sun Devils looked like they had prepared for this game for some time as the goals started coming in. ASU was up 5-0 just three minutes into the game.
“I believe mostly everybody on our team was able to score in that game, I think that’s important considering we have such a big freshman class,” head coach Petra Pardi said. “For everyone to score your first goal and ended up getting into a groove of things so let’s keep riding.”
Cal Lutheran looked completely overwhelmed by what ASU was doing and had difficulty securing time of possession which hindered their ability to get any offense going.
Arizona State continued to light the lamp, scoring four more. The Sun Devils led 9-0 heading into the second quarter.
ASU would strike fast just 21 seconds into the second quarter when senior center Alba Olive Marti scored her second of five goals in the match to help ASU stretch its lead to 10-0.
Defensively, the Sun Devils were rock solid recording 12 steals in the match. Arizona State was so dominant offensively that the defense was not tested much of the game but when it was it answered the call.
Arizona State went into the half up 15-0 with full control of the game.
While Cal Lutheran was able to put a couple of goals on the board the Sun Devils continued to pour it on notching eight goals in the third quarter to take a commanding 23-2 lead.
In total ASU generated 40 shots and scored on 26 of them compared to the Regals who tallied 20 shots and only scored twice.
Arizona State would add another three goals to win the game 26-2 which is the most goals scored in a game in franchise history beating the last mark set on March 29, 2009, when the Sun Devils defeated the Regals 25-6.
“Obviously it’s a great way to open up the season and get our shooting confidence up and our offense to accomplish,” Pardi said. “I’m less concerned about the amount of goals we scored rather than just how the amount of shots came from a variety of players.
Another record set was for sophomore center Sophie Shorter-Robinson who scored six goals in the match against Cal Lutheran which set a career high.
The second game of the day was against No. 20 Wagner. The second game turned out to be a much more competitive game for the Sun Devils.
Once again it was Petovary who found the back of the net 4:16 into the game to give the Sun Devils the go-ahead 1-0 lead.
Wagner would answer from freshman attacker Ana Arias who would record her first of two in the quarter to tie the game 1-1.
Arizona State would go into the second quarter with the game knotted up 2-2.
Defense was stout for both teams throughout the afternoon with ASU generating 7 steals and Wagner forcing 11. It was this kind of play that produced quality scoring chances for both sides.
The second quarter was filled with back-and-forth action as Shorter-Robinson added a pair to ASU’s lead as the Sun Devils found themselves up 6-5 heading into the half.
“A lot of things like the mistakes that we made, I warned them this was a likely scenario for how the games would go and I just asked for us to mentally stick with the game plan,” Pardi said.
Wagner came out strong in the third quarter scoring three goals in two minutes and the pressure started to shift back to ASU to try and regain the momentum.
The Seahawks outshot the Sun Devils 45-25 in the game but only managed to score ten times.
The Sun Devils traveled into the fourth quarter with the game tied 10-10.
It was ASU sophomore goalkeeper Sanne Keijzer who completely shut the door in the fourth quarter not allowing Wagner to score a goal. Keijzer made 20 saves on the day.
Petovary added another three goals in the fourth as the Sun Devils would score six in total and win the game 16-10.
“To play together, to play for each other and we did that in the fourth quarter, but it would’ve been nice to turn that switch on sooner, it would’ve been a more comfortable game,” said Pardi.
Arizona State will return Sunday for day two of the Cross Conference Challenge where the Sun Devils face #18 Loyola Marymount with game time starting at 10:20 a.m. MST.
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