Indiana University Athletics
Survive Close Call Against UCD
4/2/2005 12:00:00 AM | Women's Water Polo
"Tonight, we were able to play the way we wanted to play," Indiana head coach Barry King said. "The girls played good solid defense all night, and when you can force the other team to make that one extra pass, which can lead to a turnover, you put yourself in a good position to win the game."
After coming off an 11-4 win against Colorado State earlier in the afternoon, the Hoosiers battled with the Aggies throughout the opening period. The match remained scoreless until 41 seconds remained in the first period. Sophomore Kristin Zernicke sprinted past the defense and fired up a shot on the left side of the goal from about 15 feet out. The shot skipped across the water and snuck into the goal on the left-hand side. Zernicke's shot put the Hoosiers ahead by a score of 1-0.
In the second stanza, IU was able to find its rhythm as the Hoosiers quickly picked up two more goals. After receiving a sharp pass from junior Bridget McKeon, Zernicke grabbed hold of the ball and lobbed it over the outstretched arm of the goalie for her second goal of the match. Less than two minutes later, at the 3:39 mark in the second period, junior Janis Pardy blasted a shot of her own into the back of the net.
UC-Davis soon responded with a goal from sophomore Katherine O'Rourke. With 2:13 left in the second period, O'Rourke received a pass from junior Jessi Lafayette and was able to toss a shot that hit the top portion of the net. For the remainder of the second period, as well as all of the third period, both team's defenses controlled the game, neither allowing the other team to score.
Indiana was able to break the scoring drought 56 seconds into the fourth period. As Pardy passed the ball inside to freshman Carolyn Conway, Conway broke free of two UC-Davis defenders and fired a backhanded shot into the net. Conway's score put the Hoosiers ahead by a score of 4-1.
As time started to wind down, the Hoosiers appeared to be on the verge of victory. However, with 2:11 left in the fourth period, senior Jenny Stephanopoulos raced down the right side of the pool and scored UC-Davis' second goal of the match. Just over a minute later, Stephanopoulos struck again to bring the Aggies within one. Despite the final surge put on by the UC-Davis, the Hoosiers maintained possession for the final ten seconds and came out victorious by a score of 4-3.
Senior goalkeeper Jessica Goldner came up big for the Hoosiers throughout the match as she tallied 12 saves. Goldner had been averaging 8.0 saves per game going into tonight's came and really stepped up for IU in a crucial game. Additionally, seniors Krista Peterson and Kandace Waldthaler put up five shots between the two of them, and each were able to come away with a steal.
In the first game of the evening, the No. 10 San Jose State Spartans defeated the No. 13 Michigan Wolverines in triple overtime by a score of 10-9.
The 2005 Fluid Five will continue tomorrow, April 3, when Indiana will play host to San Jose State at 11:30 a.m. Three other matches are scheduled tomorrow including SJSU vs. Colorado State at 9 a.m., Michigan vs. UC- Davis at 10 a.m., and UC-Davis vs. Colorado State at 12:30 p.m.
