UC Irvine
Arizona State
Season Stalls on 6-5 Defeat for Sixth Place
May 11, 2014 | Women's Water Polo
LOS ANGELES, Calif. --- UC Irvine finished its NCAA Tournament run with a sixth place finish after falling to Arizona State, 6-5, Sunday afternoon at Uytengsu Aquatics Center.
The Anteaters (25-9, 5-0) started off strong scoring twice in the opening period and shutting down the Sun Devil attack for a 2-0 lead.
Arizona State (17-11) climbed back into it after Emily Carlson's power play skip goal extended the lead to 3-0 a minute and a half in. ASU countered twice to close the gap to 3-2 by halftime.
A Michaela Pierandozzi goal gave UCI a brief third quarter lead after ASU tied it. The Sun Devils would respond late in the period, and the teams entered the fourth quarter tied 4-4.
ASU's defense came up big, and the Sun Devils would build a two-goal advantage on a penalty shot goal from Izabella Chiappini with 3:50 left in the match.
UC Irvine came up with some big stops and earned a penalty of its own that senior Jessy Cardey would put away drawing the match to within one with 1:03 to go.
The 'Eaters got one final chance with 28 seconds remaining, but Hillary Estrada's entry pass to Hannah Croghan was swiped away and Arizona State, making its first NCAA Tournament appearance, would hang on for the victory.
E.B. Keeve saved eight shots for ASU while Petra Pardi led all scorers with two. Jillian Yocum had five saves for UC Irvine and was credited with two steals and an earned exclusion.
Jessy Cardey finished with 58 goals on the season, one behind team-leader Danielle Warde's 59, and a program-record 224 career goals. She also finishes her career on a 15-match scoring streak.
McKenna Mitchell earned three exclusions including the penalty and recorded a steal. Warde also earned three adding a steal and field block.
The Anteaters complete the 2014 season with a 25-9 record. The 25 wins tie the program record for a single season set in 2012. The 'Eaters are 4-5 all-time in their three NCAA Tournament appearances.
|
|
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
F |
|
UCI |
2 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
5 |
|
ASU |
0 |
2 |
2 |
2 |
6 |
UCI goals: Hillary Estrada, Annika Bergesen, Emily Carlson, Michaela Pierandozzi, Jessy Cardey
ASU goals: Petra Pardi (2), Ao Gao, Alkistis Benekou, Anna Kertes, Izabella Chiappini
Saves: Jillian Yocum (UCI) – 5; E.B. Keeve (ASU) – 8
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