Indiana Upsets No. 10 UC Davis, 8-5

Saturday, February 24

Santa Clara, CA

8 PM

Indiana University

UC Davis

2/24/2018 11:23:00 PM | Women's Water Polo

Box Score (PDF)Tournament Central

Gaudreault locks the cage, leads IU to their first top-10 win of 2018

SANTA CLARA, Calif. – The Hoosiers finished the first day of the Santa Clara Invitational with gusto, stunning No. 10 UC Davis with an 8-5 win. Indiana (10-3) secured its first top-10 win of the season—the second under head coach Ryan Castle—by dominating the defensive end with 10 team steals and five power play kills. Senior goalkeeper Jessica Gaudreault made 10 saves, her fifth game this year with double figure blocks.

Kelly Matthews completed an outstanding day in the water with another hat trick, her second in as many games, along with one assist and a team-leading three steals. Sarah Young and Jennifer Beadle added to the winning effort with two goals apiece, while Megan Abarta scored on her only shot to remain perfect (2-for-2) from the field. Beadle has found the back of the net at least twice in five of Indiana's last six games.

Game 13: No. 16 Indiana 8, No. 10 UC Davis 5 // Box Score
Team              1 – 2 – 3 – 4 | F
IU:                   4 – 2 – 1 – 1 | 8
UCD:             0 – 3 – 0 – 2 | 5

The key to Indiana's upset effort might have been their blistering start to the contest. Beadle, Young, and Matthews got the Hoosiers up with four unanswered goals, holding the Aggies (11-7) scoreless through the first quarter. Indiana converted two of their three successful power plays in that stretch.

Matthews opened the second quarter with another power play, sparking a back-and-forth goal exchange as the teams battled to halftime. Beadle and Abarta interrupted three UC Davis goals to close the quarter, but the Aggies made a slight chip in the Hoosiers' 6-3 lead.

From there, Indiana put a lid on their goalmouth and scored enough to preserve their three-point lead. Abarta sent home the only goal on either side of the third quarter, while Young extended IU's lead after UC Davis scored twice on a late comeback attempt.

Abarta and Joelle Nacouzi led the Hoosiers in the assists category with two apiece while Beadle, Myers, and Matthews found one helper each. Myers (120 assists) ascends to tenth all-time on Indiana's career assists leaderboard, two behind Matthews; both are rapidly approaching Deb Simone (125, 1998-2000) for the eighth spot on the career standings.

Up Next: No. 16 Indiana (10-3) at Santa Clara (6-6)
Sunday, Feb. 25 • 12:20 p.m. ET/9:20 AM PT • Live on YouTube • Live Stats
Sullivan Aquatic Center • Santa Clara, California

The Hoosiers will play their second true away game of the season to start Sunday's double-header in Northern California, taking on the tournament hosts. Indiana won their most recent meeting at UC San Diego in 2016, but IU's seniors seek revenge after the Broncos topped Indiana in Bloomington three years ago.

The Broncos are off to a 2-0 start in their home weekend, securing wins over Redlands and Cal State Monterey Bay.