Indiana University Athletics
IU Crushes Santa Cruz, 14-2
2/9/2003 12:00:00 AM | Women's Water Polo
Spirits were high, as well as Indiana's confidence against the Banana Slugs, roaring out of the gates to a 6-0 lead in the first 12:43 of play. Indiana senior Kristin Stanford scored the first two Hoosier goals, netting the pair with just 1:01 expired in the first quarter. Santa Cruz finally found the back of the net inside one minute remaining in the first half.
Throughout the afternoon, the Hoosiers (3-4) showed comfort on both ends of the pool. A total of nine different Hoosiers tallied goals for the Cream and Crimson, led by Stanford, who was a perfect 4-of-4 in the game. Junior Melissa Pietras and freshman Emily Schmitt netted two goals each, while Sarah Butler, Courtney Livak, Clare Meadows, Krista Peterson, Courtney Thom, and Ginger Wang all found the back of the net once.
"I am really pleased with the effort our girls put into today and this weekend," said Indiana head coach Barry King. "We looked at this weekend as a chance to gain experience and I think we did that. We fought back hard against Santa Cruz after three disappointing losses. That was good to see."
Indiana's 14-goal output against Santa Cruz was the highest total all year for the Hoosiers. As a team, IU was 14-of-29 from the field, while sophomore goalkeeper Jessica Goldner allowed only two goals, and stopped 6-of-15 shots.
Santa Cruz's two goals each came within the final minute of play in both the second and third periods. Indiana would go on to score the game's last six goals in the fourth, with the final netter coming off the hand of Meadows.
The Hoosiers were tough on the defensive end as well, recording 22 steals, which is the third-best total in school history.
Junior Ginger Wang set a career-high with six steals, including five in the first quarter. Peterson, Schmitt and freshman Rachel Lowe followed with three steals each.
"Honestly I went out there this afternoon and went after it because I was tired of losing," said Wang. "I really tried to get in the passing lanes and anticipate the passes before they occurred."
Sunday morning, the Hoosiers got a taste of the best competition in the land, as No. 1 Stanford jumped out to a 10-0 lead after three quarters and went onto finish off IU 15-3. Junior Kristy Streefkerk got the Hoosiers on the board at the 5:42 mark in the third, and was followed by Wang and Stanford for the final two Hoosier goals.
Over the weekend, the Hoosiers saw limited action from sophomore Sharna Nelson, due to illness. The Grafton, NSW, Australia, product was sidelined for both of Indiana's games on Sunday.
The Hoosiers will switch coasts next week and travel to the Princeton Invitational in Princeton, N.J. King notes that even though his Hoosiers went 1-3 on the weekend, the experience will only help them compete at Princeton.
"Our performance this weekend is only going to help us next weekend against some East-coast teams. This trip was definitely well worth it."
