Indiana University Athletics
Hoosiers Rally, But Fall Short in Eastern Championship
8/25/2005 12:00:00 AM | Women's Water Polo
May 1, 2005
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - It was a classic to the end, like many Indiana-Michigan battles before it. The No. 10 Indiana water polo team battled back from a trio of two-goal deficits, including one with under five minutes remaining, but Michigan outlasted the Hoosiers, 8-7, in the Collegiate Water Polo Association Eastern Championship. The victory sends the Wolverines to the NCAA Championships, while the Hoosiers end the year at 24-10.
"I was very proud of the way the ladies battled back after being down by two goals on three different occasions," Indiana head coach Barry King said. "It was a typical Indiana-Michigan affair that was decided by a few fortunate breaks one way or the other. It just didn't go our way today."
Entering the final period tied at five, the Wolverines struck first with a pair of goals to take a 7-5 advantage. Both goals came with U-M having the 6-on-5 advantage. Michigan senior Sheetal Narsai scored off the crossbar just over a minute into the final frame. A minute later, the Wolverines pushed the lead to two. After a shot from senior Jo Antonsen was blocked wide by IU goalkeeper senior Jessica Goldner, junior Megan Hausmann corralled the deflection and pushed it into the left side of the net.
For the third time in the match, the Cream and Crimson came back to draw even. On IU's very next possession, junior Emily Schmitt scored into the left corner of the goal with the Hoosiers on the 6-on-5 advantage. Senior Kandace Waldthaler drew the ejection in the post on Michigan's Meg Knudtsen, and junior Janis Pardy found Schmitt with the pass.
Once again the Hoosiers used the man-advantage to tie it up at seven. Senior Krista Peterson drew the ejection on Michigan senior Erin Brown in transition. Following a Hoosier timeout, Pardy and Peterson passed back on forth before Pardy put the shot away into the upper left corner with 2:41 remaining.
The Wolverines would regain the lead nearly a minute later. On the heels of back-to-back ejections on the Hoosiers, Hausmann scored from the post with 1:48 remaining to push the Maize and Blue back on top at 8-7. Brown drew the ejection on Peterson in the post, before U-M sophomore Shana Welch found Hausmann for the tip in on the right side.
Waldthaler had a chance in the post on the Hoosiers' final possession. The Fairfield, Calif., native attempted a backhand shot with a U-M defender draped over her, but Eastern Championship MVP Betsey Armstrong came out to make a clutch save with the ball coming loose in the 2-meter. During the fracas, Michigan was awarded a 20-second timeout with the apparent possession of the submerged ball. From there, the Wolverines were able to swim out the clock.
Michigan jumped out to an early 2-0 lead, three minutes into the matchup. Knudtsen stepped in and skipped a shot just over the goal line on U-M's first possession of the match. Goldner was able to get a hand on the ball, but it trickled over the goal line. Antonsen scored from the right side of the perimeter on a similar play. Goldner was once again able to get a piece of the shot, but it had enough momentum to get past the goal line.
The Cream and Crimson drew within one before the period was out. With the Hoosiers actually down a man with a substitution during play, sophomore Kristin Zernicke found Waldthaler in the post. With a defender on her and Armstrong coming out, she was able to lob a shot over the top of Armstrong.
Waldthaler evened the match 1:30 into the second period. Junior Bridget McKeon attempted a shot from the perimeter that was blocked down by Welch into the middle of the four-meter. Waldthaler corralled the deflection and scored into the left side of the net for her second tally of the contest.
The Wolverines pushed the advantage back to two scoring at the 4:47 and 3:13 marks of the second. Junior Kristin Hoogenboom drew an ejection in the post, allowing her to get wide open. Hausmann dumped the ball into Hoogenboom, who scored into the upper right corner of the goal. Michigan scored on the counter with 3:13 remaining. After IU junior Janis Pardy sent a shot high over the top of the goal, Welch leaked out and Armstrong found her on the counter.
IU wasted little time drawing back within one. Schmitt skipped a shot into the left corner with 3:00 remaining. Michigan pushed the advantage back to two when Knudtsen followed suit with a skip shot into the left side of the net with 1:43 remaining.
The Hoosiers scored the only two goals of the third period to knot the match heading to the final stanza. Waldthaler drew ejections in the post to give IU the 6-on-5 advantages on both goals. After a Peterson shot was blocked wide by a Michigan defender, Zernicke scored from the perimeter as the advantage expired. Waldthaler's drawn ejection left her open in the post for the second goal. Peterson sent the pass to Waldthaler, who scored under Armstrong's arm into the right side.
The Cream and Crimson had numerous chances on the day, outshooting Michigan 32-20. The trend was set on IU's first possession of the game, which resulted in three shots with one Armstrong save.
Goldner finished with five saves and a team-leading three steals on the afternoon. She was named second team All-Eastern Championship along with Peterson and freshman Carolyn Conway. Waldthaler earned first team All-Eastern Championship honors after recording a hat trick in all three matches. She ended her career with four hat tricks in her final four matches.
The loss ended the Hoosier careers of Goldner, Peterson and Waldthaler. The trio ended four years at Indiana with a 91-44 record, including the 2003 CWPA Eastern Championship, 2003 NCAA Tournament berth, and 2005 regular season Western Division Championship. The 24 wins by the Hoosiers in 2005 are the second most behind the 26 of the 1998 and 2003 squads.
"Jessie, Krista and Kandace have been very instrumental in our program," King said. "Not only are they good water polo players, but they personify the term student-athlete with their work both in the classroom and in the water. We will definitely miss this group because they have helped in taking IU Water Polo to the next level. I cannot say enough about their hard work and what they have meant to the program. I know each one of them will be successful in life."
CWPA Eastern Championship Awards
Coach of the Year
Matt Anderson, University of Michigan
Most Valuable Player
Betsey Armstrong, University of Michigan
First Team All-Eastern Championship
Betsey Armstrong, University of Michigan
Bronwen Knox, Hartwick College
Kandace Waldthaler, Indiana University
Shana Welch, University of Michigan
Diana Livermore, Brown University
Elyse Colgan, Princeton University
Kate Chambers, Hartwick College
Second Team All-Eastern Championship
Krista Peterson, Indiana University
Sheetal Narsai, University of Michigan
Teresa Codini, Harvard University
Carolyn Conway, Indiana University
Meg Bitzler, Bucknell University
Meg Knudsten, University of Michigan
Jessica Goldner, Indiana University (Goalkeeper)
