Indiana University Athletics
Hoosier "D" Stops Princeton
4/12/2003 12:00:00 AM | Women's Water Polo
And they did.
The No. 15 Hoosiers topped the 13th-ranked Tigers, 7-4, at the Collegiate Water Polo Association Southern Division Championship, advancing to the championship final against Michigan tomorrow at 3:15 p.m. EST.
The gameplan was simple. Shutdown Princeton's scoring threats, Adele-McCarthy-Beauvais and Jenny Edwards, while countering with intense defense that the Hoosiers have shown all year. It was a gameplan that called for the top performances of every Hoosier on the team.
Sophomore Jessica Goldner turned in one of the best performances of her career Saturday, stopping 14-of-26 shots by the Tigers, with seven of the 26 shots bouncing hard off the pipes. No matter the shot, no matter the angle, Goldner blocked shots with every part of her body. There were typical saves off her arms, but certainly the 4-meter penalty shot off the tips of her fingers, and Princeton's final shot that soared to the air after Goldner offered her face as a shield, brought the Hoosier faithful to their feet at the Kinney Natatorium Saturday.
"I thought Jessie played an outstanding game for us today," said Indiana head coach Barry King. "She always seems to come up huge for us in the big games at that is what she did tonight for us."
And then there was senior Ginger Wang and junior Kristy Streefkerk. Both Hoosiers turned in tremendous performances against the Princeton duo, and while Edwards found the back of the net for all four Tiger goals, McCarthy-Beauvais was limited to just one shot.
With the Hoosier defense controlling the game, the Indiana offensive attack was widespread and certainly effective.
Wang opened the scoring at the 4:56 mark in the first quarter, and was followed by junior Melissa Pietras almost three minutes later. Indiana took a 2-0 lead after the first seven minutes, and would continue its dominance throughout the second quarter as well.
Kristin Stanford and Emily Schmitt each netted goals to extend the Hoosier lead to 4-0. Edwards would score for Princeton with 3:44 left in the half, and take the Tigers in to halftime trailing 4-1.
Bridget McKeon extended the Hoosiers' lead to 5-1 at the 3:44 mark in the third, after rebounding and tipping in a Jamie Marley shot that kicked hard off the crossbar.
Princeton would not go quietly though, in fact the Tigers fought back hard. Edwards single-handedly got Princeton back to 6-4, after Krista Peterson notched the Hoosiers' sixth goal.
Pietras closed the deal for IU, netting a powerful skip shot from six-meters with 1:44 remaining in the game.
The Hoosiers face their rival Michigan Sunday for the Southern Division Championship and the elusive No. 1 seed at the CWPA Eastern Championships in two weeks.
