IU Beats Princeton; One Win Away!

4/26/2003 12:00:00 AM | Women's Water Polo

BOSTON, Mass. - Although sophomore goalkeeper Jessica Goldner was named Friday night to the Collegiate Water Polo Association Southern Division second-team, she turned in a first team All-American-type performance in Saturday's Eastern Championship semifinal against Princeton.

Goldner, who dominated Princeton two weeks ago in the divisional semi-finals, turned in a school record performance in the Hoosiers' 5-1 win against the Tigers on Saturday. Goldner tied a school record with 19 saves on 24 shots, a remarkable .792 save percentage against the 14th-ranked team in the nation.

Indiana, ranked 13th in the nation, is now 25-9 on the year, and is set to face Brown in the Eastern Championships final on Sunday.

"Obviously tonight's MVP was Jessica, but our team defense was outstanding," said Indiana head coach Barry King. "Jessie made some great saves for us, but the field players in front of her were equally as strong with their defense. This was the best defensive performance I have seen out of this team this year."

The first quarter was everything fans in Harvard's Blodgett Pool expected. Kristin Stanford opened the Hoosier scoring with the first two Indiana goals. Stanford first scored on a 4-meter penalty shot, that was actually committed on teammate Melissa Pietras. Stanford converted the penalty shot at the 6:02 mark, then followed with a cross-cage solo shot some five minutes later. But Stanford was also forced to the sidelines, as the Cincinnati, Ohio native was ejected twice in the first seven minutes. In water polo, a third kickout results in an ejection from the game.

With Stanford on the sidelines for the majority of the second quarter, a number of Hoosiers, including Melissa Pietras, Kristy Streefkerk, Ginger Wang and Goldner, stepped up for IU. Goldner continued an impressive performance in goal, having finished the first half stopping 9-of-12 shots.

Now, with that percentage goes along with a little luck as well. With 2:24 remaining in the half, Goldner came out of the cage to make a steal, but was called for a kickout, resulting in the Hoosiers down a man and a goalie between the pipes.

Wang rotated in to goal, but her services were not needed as Megan Donahue's shot sailed high above the crossbar.

Once Goldner was let back in, she again came up with a huge stop. Donahue was on a fastbreak for the Tigers, charging at Goldner for a 1-on-1 confrontation. A fully spread Goldner blocked her shot and put a lock on the first-half shutout.

The third quarter mirrored the second as both teams went scoreless. Both Princeton and Indiana failed to convert on its respective 6-on-5 power plays. However, with a Hoosier man-up advantage, Pietras went lower-left on Princeton goalie Madeline McCarthy, which appeared to have gone in. The far official ruled different and the 2-0 shutout remained entering the final seven minutes.

IU lengthened its lead with 4:15 left in the game, when Goldner passed to Emily Schmitt on the weakside, who then found a wide open Krista Peterson in the middle of the pool. The Portland, Ore., native nearly caught the back of the net on fire with the amount of force she put on the shot, giving Indiana a 3-0 lead.

With a victory just minutes away, Stanford found Kristy Streefkerk at the 2:00 mark while the Hoosiers were a man up, and the Surrey, British Columbia native gave Indiana what appeared to be Indiana's final goal.

Princeton's Jenny Edwards did score for the Tigers, ending the Hoosier shutout, with just 1:40 in the game.

But as if it was scripted, Schmitt penned the final exclamation point to a magical story that had yet to end. With just one second remaining in the game, Schmitt lobbed a shot from seven meters and found the upper-right portion of the net.

As if the Hoosier victory wasn't enough for water polo fans, Brown pulled off an unbelievable upset on top-seed and 9th-ranked Michigan, 5-4. The Wolverines, who were favored to meet Indiana in the finals, will now face Princeton in the consolation game, while Indiana faces Brown for the coveted berth to the NCAA Final Four. The Hoosiers will play in the title game Sunday at 2:50 p.m. EST.