Hoosiers Down George Washington, 11-4

8/25/2005 12:00:00 AM | Women's Water Polo

Apr. 30, 2005

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - The No. 10 Indiana water polo team opened up the Collegiate Water Polo Association Eastern Championship with an 11-4 victory over George Washington. After the Colonials notched the first goal of the match, the Hoosiers went on a six-goal run over the next three periods to take the advantage and cruise to victory. Indiana improved to 23-9 with the victory.

After George Washington's Morgan Hooker scored 1:30 into the first period, junior Clare Meadows scored back-to-back goals to give the Hoosiers the lead for good. Senior Kandace Waldthaler drew the ejection in the post to give IU the 6-on-5 advantage, and senior Krista Peterson found Meadows with a lob into the post. Waldthaler started the Hoosiers on the break two minutes later. Meadows got out on the counter and scored with 2:42 remaining in the first to give IU the 2-1 lead.

Sophomore Kristin Zernicke continued the counter attack for the Hoosiers. The Calgary, Alberta, Canada, native skipped a shot into the left side of the net with just 39 seconds remaining in the opening period.

Junior Janis Pardy and Waldthaler each added second period goals to push the IU advantage to 5-1 at the half. Pardy scored on a shot into the left side of the net off the assist from freshman Carolyn Conway with 4:36 remaining in the half. With a 6-on-5 advantage expiring, Waldthaler scored off a rebound with just under two minutes remaining for the final tally of the half.

Waldthaler scored on a backhand in the post to start the third period. Sophomore Jaclyn Tameris found Waldthaler in the two-meter for the goal. The goal pushed the IU advantage to 6-1 with 5:09 remaining in the third.

The Colonials responded with a pair of goals over the next three minutes to close the gap to three. After George Washington's Kendra Shanley scored with 2:56 remaining in the third, Conway notched her only tally of the match on the ensuing possession. Junior Bridget McKeon found the first team all-conference honoree in the post.

Waldthaler notched her seventh hat trick on the year and 14th of her Hoosier career with a marker to start the fourth period. Pardy found Waldthaler for the assist on the counter. The Hoosiers improved to 12-2 when Waldthaler scores a hat trick. On the Hoosiers' next possession, it was McKeon getting into the scoring column. Pardy picked up the steal to start IU on the counter before dishing to McKeon for the marker.

George Washington scored its final goal with 4:41 remaining when Hooker scored her second tally of the match. The Cream and Crimson added a pair before the final horn. Peterson scored in the post off an assist from freshman Linda Calvert. McKeon added the final goal for the Hoosiers from the right side off the assist from sophomore Claire Nicholson.

Meadows, Peterson and Zernicke led the Hoosiers on the defensive end with two steals each. Senior goalkeeper Jessica Goldner made four saves and had a steal in the victory.

The Hoosiers advance to the semifinals to face fourth-seeded Hartwick, a 10-3 winner over Harvard. It will be a rematch of the 2004 Eastern Championship semifinal match, which saw Hartwick defeat IU, 6-5. The match is set for 7 p.m. at the Counsilman-Billingsley Aquatic Center on Saturday night. The other semifinal match will pit second-seeded Michigan, a 7-1 victor over Bucknell, against third-seeded Princeton, who knocked off Brown, 10-6, at 8:30 p.m. The Eastern Championship match will be at 1:30 p.m. on Sunday, May 1. The winner of the CWPA Eastern Championship will earn the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Championship at Canham Natatorium in Ann Arbor, Mich., on May 13-15.