LOS ANGELES, Calif. — Lauren Stuart and Elizabeth White both posted hat-tricks with three goals to share Player of the Game status as Southwest Division Champion/No. 3-ranked Arizona State University outwitted North Atlantic Division Champion/No. 14 the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), 14-8, in the opening round of the 2023 Women’s National Collegiate Club Championship hosted by the University of California-Los Angeles (UCLA) at the Sunset Canyon Recreation Center’s Park Pool.
Courtesy the victory, Arizona State – which can now finish no lower than eighth in final 16-team tournament standings – advances to an 11:20 a.m. quarterfinal game on Saturday, May 6, against the winner of an opening round game pitting Texas Division Champion/No. 5 Texas A&M University and Rocky Mountain Division Champion/No. 17 the University of Colorado.
MIT will take on the loser of the Texas A&M-Colorado game at 8:45 p.m. Pacific this evening in the consolation side of the championship bracket. Due to the defeat, the Engineers can now finish no better than ninth place in the 16-team championship.
The Sun Devils stuck a fork in the Engineers in the first half as White (5:34), Gabriella Pellegrini (5:00), Fiona Watkins (3:58), Katie Kenyon-Appelt (1:26, man-up) and Stuart (49 seconds) built a 5-0 lead for ASU in the first quarter. Stuart (2:36) and White (1:36) tacked on a pair to commence the second quarter prior to Amanda Jackson putting MIT on the scoreboard with 1:24 left on the clock to inch the Engineers within 7-1 entering halftime.
In the third quarter, Pellegini (5:49, penalty shot) and Payton Nelson (4:17) insulated the lead to 9-1 before Shannon Moreno buried a man-up opportunity with four minutes left in the frame to make it a 9-2 contest.
White (3:15) and Devon Reid (1:35, man-up) traded goals for the Sun Devils and Engineers before Allison Jurich (1:02, man-up) and Jackson (36 seconds) repeated the feat in the waning moments of the third quarter to set the scoreboard at 12-4. Charis Key (five seconds, man-up) concluded the seven-minute quarter with another Arizona State strike to provide the Sun Devils a 12-4 lead.
Stuart (4:54) pushed the margin to nine goals (13-4) with 4:54 to play in the fourth quarter before Moreno connected on natural (4:22) and penalty (3:51) markers to shrink the Engineers’ deficit to seven at 13-6.
Jurich (2:18) finished out ASU’s scoring prior to Sasha Konovalenko (1:34) and Moreno (45 seconds) tacking on a pair of final strikes for MIT to establish the 14-8 final score.
For MIT, Moreno (four) and Reid (two) accounted for multi-goal games to accompany single tallies by Jackson and Konovalenko. Mak Kirkman-Davis stopped four shots in taking the loss for the Engineers.
Stuart and White were joined in the scoring column by Pellegrini (two), Jurich (two), Kenyon-Appelt, Key, Watkins and Nelson for ASU. Kristi Spieleder (three) and Loren Hutchings (one) combined for four saves in cage.
| 1st Q | 2nd Q | 3rd Q | 4th Q | – | FINAL | |
| No. 14 Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
0 | 1 | 3 | 4 | – | 8 |
| No. 3 Arizona State University | 5 | 2 | 5 | 2 | – | 14 |
| ASU Goals: | Lauren Stuart (3); Elizabeth White (3); Gabriela Pellegrini (2); Allison Jurich (2); Katie Kenyon-Appelt; Charis Key; Fiona Watkins; Payton Nelson | |||||
| MIT Goals: | Shannon Moreno (4); Devon Reid (2); Amanda Jackson; Sasha Konovalenko | |||||
| Saves: | ASU – Kristi Spieleder (3), Loren Hutchings (1) ; MIT – Mak Kirkman-Davis (4) | |||||
| Exclusions: | ASU – 8 ; MIT – 4 | |||||
| Advantage Opportunities: | ASU – 4-for-4 ; MIT – 4-for-8 | |||||
| Cards/Misconducts: | ASU – None ; MIT – None | |||||
| Officials: | Mike McMahon; Carlos Fuentes | |||||
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Soumya Kannan (#12) lines up a shot as Arizona State University’s Brynn Bogard (#14) defends
Arizona State University’s Gabriela Pellegrini (#6) looks to shoot as the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Amanda Jackson (#5) and Sarah Demsky (#4) attempt to defend
Arizona State University’s Fiona Watkins (#9) defends the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Ria Sonecha (#2)
