LOS ANGELES, Calif. — Brynn Bogard scored three times and Player of the Game Fiona Watkins joined Gabriela Pellegrini in scoring twice as Southwest Division Champion/No. 3 Arizona State University topped Texas Division Champion/No. 5 Texas A&M University, 8-5, in the quarterfinals of the 2023 Women’s National Collegiate Club Championship.
Competing at the University of California-Los Angeles’ Park Pool, the Sun Devils overcame chilly temperatures and the Aggies to earn a semifinal date with Pacific Coast Division Champion/No. 4 the University of California-Santa Barbara at 5:10 p.m. later today.
The loss drops Texas A&M into the consolation side of the championship bracket as the Aggies will seek to knock off the University of Notre Dame at 6:20 p.m. this evening with a spot in the fifth place game on the line.
Arizona State fell behind early in the game as Shannon Connolly (5:25) and Emily Traynor (3:57) found the back twine for Texas A&M within the first four minutes of the opening quarter to acquire a 2-0 lead. Bogard cut the Sun Devils’ deficit in half prior to the end of the first seven minutes of action as she lined in a shot at the 1:25 mark to move ASU within 2-1.
Riley Means squared the squads at two-all with 4:40 on the clock in the second quarter prior to Watkins handing the Sun Devils their inaugural lead at 3-2 courtesy a man-up strike at 3:38. However, Traynor (3:00) and Connolly (1:46) capped off the first half with back-to-back goals to turn the tide back in Texas A&M’s favor at 4-3 through 14 minutes of action.
ASU went to work by sticking a fork in the Aggies’ victory hopes during the third quarter as Pellegrini evened the damage at four-all (3:34) before Bogard (1:36) and Pellegrini (1:15, penalty shot) built Arizona State’s lead to 6-4.
Following a final goal by Connolly with 51 seconds to go in the third quarter to move Texas A&M within one at 6-5, the Sun Devils burned the Aggies in the first two minutes of the fourth quarter courtesy markers by Watkins (6:14) and Bogard (5:00).
Neither team was able to add onto its total over the remaining five minutes of competition as ASU held on for a three-goal win.
Means joined Bogard (three), Pellegrini (two) and Watkins (two) in the scoring column for ASU. Kristi Spieleder made 10 saves to pick-up the win in cage.
Connolly (three) and Traynor (two) combined for all the Aggies’ offense. Corine Kaderli stopped seven shots in suffering the loss for Texas A&M.
| 1st Q | 2nd Q | 3rd Q | 4th Q | – | FINAL | |
| No. 5 Texas A&M University |
2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | – | 5 |
| No. 3 Arizona State University | 1 | 2 | 3 | 2 | – | 8 |
| ASU Goals: | Brynn Bogard (3); Gabriela Pellegrini (2); Fiona Watkins (2); Riley Means | |||||
| Texas A&M Goals: | Shannon Connolly (3); Emily Traynor (2) | |||||
| Saves: | ASU – Kristi Spieleder (10) ; Texas A&M – Corine Kaderli (7) | |||||
| Exclusions: | ASU – 6 ; Texas A&M – 8 | |||||
| Advantage Opportunities: | ASU – 3-for-8 ; Texas A&M – 0-for-6 | |||||
| Cards/Misconducts: | ASU – None; Texas A&M – None | |||||
| Officials: | Unknown | |||||
Arizona State University’s Gabriella Pellegrini (#6) shoots on Texas A&M University goalie Corine Kaderli (#1)
Arizona State University’s RIley Means (#18) defends Texas A&M University’s Emily Nguyen (#5)
