Wolverines Fall to No. 14 Arizona State on Final Day of Triton Invitational

Sunday, February 4

La Jolla, Calif.

10:00 AM PT

Michigan

6-5

Arizona State

7-1

Arizona State

Michigan

Lola Ciruli (Scott Flanders/UC San Diego)

Wolverines Fall to No. 14 Arizona State on Final Day of Triton Invitational

2/4/2024 3:15:00 PM | Water Polo

Box Score

By: Alex Whisnant

LA JOLLA, Calif. -- The No. 10-ranked University of Michigan water polo team fell 10-8 to No. 14 Arizona State on Sunday (Feb. 4) in the fifth-place game of the Triton Invitational at Triton Pool.

Libby Alsemgeest led the Wolverine offense in the loss, scoring a goal in each quarter to finish with four tallies in the tournament finale. Four players accounted for a goal each as Lola Ciruli, Kaia Levenfeld, Sammi Monroe and Kata Utassy rounded out the offensive effort for the Maize and Blue (6-5).

Less than a minute in, Arizona State (7-1) got on the board first, as Luca Petovary found the back of the net, but U-M quickly responded as Utassy converted on another penalty shot to tie the game at one with 6:58 remaining in the first quarter. Alsemgeest's first score gave the Wolverines the lead, 2-1, at the 5:42 mark of the opening period, and Levenfeld added another to propel Michigan to a at 3-1 advantage heading to the second quarter.

Alsemgeest found the back of the net for second time in as many quarters at 7:32 in the second to make the score 4-1. The Sun Devil offense found an answer, scoring three straight over a four-plus minute stretch to tie the game at four at the half.

For the second consecutive frame, Alsemgeest registered the first tally to fire Michigan back in front, 5-4, at 7:22. Lara Kiss scored her first goal of the game for Arizona State to even the score at five before Ciruli answered to restore the Michigan lead, 6-5, with 5:51 to go in the third. After a U-M exclusion, Petovary found the back of the net on the power play to tie the game, 6-6, at 3:01. ASU took the lead on a penalty before Monroe scored with less than 30 seconds to go to send the game to the fourth quarter knotted at seven.

The Sun Devils found some daylight in the fourth, scoring two goals in a row to take their first multi-goal lead of the contest, 9-7, at the 3:54 mark of the frame. Alsemgeest's fourth goal of the game cut the lead in half, but Arizona State was able to add one more and hold on for the 10-8 win, securing fifth place.

Michigan will be back in action in two weeks when it travels to Bloomington, Ind., for the Indiana Classic. The Wolverines will open the tournament against Saint Francis (Pa.) on Saturday, Feb. 17 at 9:15 a.m. CST.