Hoosiers Win Exhibition With Carthage

Friday, February 24

Bloomington, IN

7:30 PM

Indiana University

Carthage (Exhibition)

2/24/2017 11:03:00 PM | Women's Water Polo

Box Score (PDF)Photo Gallery

Seven score, three lead with hat tricks

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – At long last, the Indiana water polo team found a weekend to play in front of their hometown crowd at the Counsilman-Billingsley Aquatic Center. The Hoosiers (6-2) delivered a goal-scoring showcase in their home opener, a 14-2 exhibition win over Carthage College. It was the second of the six-game slate at the Hoosier Invitational, and the first of three water polo weekends in Bloomington this season.

"It was fun to play in front of all of our friends and family here," said Karrie Kozokar, one of Indiana's top scorers in the game. "I feel like we executed really well, so I hope the fans had a fun game to watch."

A trio of hat tricks paced the Indiana attack. First was Sarah Young, who drilled IU's first two scores before picking up a third late in the fourth quarter. Kozokar notched her hat trick before halftime, and freshman Megan Abarta scored once in the first half before finding two in the final minutes of the third quarter. Kelly Matthews was the fourth Hoosier with multiple scores, sinking two in the first half along with three steals.

The exhibition was beneficial for those seeking full-speed game situations that aren't offered in the rigorous tournament weekends. Freshman goalkeeper Davis Simmons, who joined the team at the start of the spring semester, logged 24 minutes in the cage and made three saves with an unblemished third quarter. Her teammate between the posts, Jessica Gaudreault, started the first quarter and tallied two saves along with an assist to help build a 6-0 Hoosier lead.

Several freshmen beyond Abarta and Simmons made good on their extended minutes in the pool. Gillian Gatecliff was Indiana's co-assists leader (Young, Matthews) with 3 in the second half. Emily Powell disrupted the Carthage defense and scored once on 3 shots. Joelle Nacouzi, one of Indiana's newcomers in the starting rotation, made the most of a short shift with a goal and an assist.

"We got to give our younger players some playing time that don't usually get much, but they slotted into our system," head coach Ryan Castle said on the experience gained from the contest. "We executed the stuff that we practiced; we just didn't execute by scoring on every opportunity, and that will come. I was impressed that they were able to do what we've talked about in practice, and that really helped us."

Up Next: Day 2 of the Hoosier Invitational • Saturday, Feb. 25
11:30 a.m. – #14 Indiana (6-2) vs. McKendree (3-6) | Live Stats | BTN Plus
7:00 p.m. – #14 Indiana (6-2) vs. #25 California Baptist (6-6) | Live Stats | BTN Plus

The weekend ramps upward in Saturday's portion of the Hoosier Invitational. Indiana begins in the morning with their first-ever game against McKendree, a preview of their future meeting on Indiana's Senior Night. That evening, the Hoosiers will meet their eighth ranked opponent of the season in #25 California Baptist.

Both games will have the full BTN Plus treatment on BTN2Go.com, along with a live game tracker. Saturday's games will be the first-ever BTN Student U broadcasts of women's water polo.