Indiana University
Redlands (UCSD Triton Invitational)
No. 13 Indiana Splits First Day at UCSD Triton Invitational
2/12/2006 12:00:00 AM | Women's Water Polo
Feb. 12, 2006
LA JOLLA, Calif. - The No. 13 Indiana women's water polo team split the opening day of the UC-San Diego Triton Invitational on Feb. 11. The Hoosiers knocked off seven-time Division III national champion Redlands, 8-7, in the first game of the weekend. Despite leading for most of the first three quarters against No. 8 San Diego State, the Hoosiers fell, 9-7.
In the nightcap against the Aztecs, after SDSU opened with a counter goal at the 2:30 mark of the first period, the Hoosiers scored three consecutive goals, including the final one on the first possession of the second period, to open up a 3-1 lead. Junior Brooke Zimmerman, who missed the Michigan Kickoff Tournament, scored with the Hoosiers' on the advantage just 13 seconds after San Diego State's goal to even the match. After the former Canadian Junior International drew the ejection, junior Kristin Zernicke found her on the left side on the pool. Zimmerman's shot deflected down and in after the crossbar to the far post. It was the first goal of her Hoosier career.
Senior Clare Meadows added the final goal of the first period to send IU to the first break with a 2-1 lead. Meadows stepped in and scored off the crossbar at the 1:31 mark. Sophomore Brittany Estrada had her shot from the left side deflected into the left corner of the net less than a minute into the second period. Estrada spun in the post after she received a pass from senior Bridget McKeon before her shot was deflected in.
After SDSU drew back within one on a backhanded shot in the two-meter, it was again Zernicke and Zimmerman hooking up with IU on the man advantage. Junior Melissa Soria drew the kickout in the post to give IU the six-on-five advantage. Zimmerman stepped in and went far post for her second goal of the contest. The Aztecs added a six-on-five goal of their own before the break, but the Hoosiers led 4-3 at the intermission.
San Diego State used the counter to draw even out the locker room. Zimmerman struck again to put the Hoosiers back on top with 3:10 remaining in the third period. The Calgary, Alberta, Canada native unleashed a frozen rope into the upper right corner from seven meters out to give IU a 5-4 advantage.
It would be the final advantage of the contest for the Hoosiers as SDSU scored twice before the end of the third period to take a 6-5 cushion into the final period. The Aztecs added the first three goals of the fourth period to open up a 9-5 lead.
IU would not go away as it added two goals to fall just short before the final horn. Zernicke scored into the right side of the net off a pass from Zimmerman, before Zernicke found Meadows on the next possession for the final Hoosier tally. The two tallies put the final margin at 9-7.
For the game, Zimmerman notched her first career hat trick to go along with three kickouts earned and two assists. Zernicke led IU with three helpers to go along with a team-high three swipes. Sophomore goalkeeper Jackie Pyrz had seven saves in net against the Aztecs.
In the opening match of the invitational, the Hoosiers used a Bridget McKeon goal 53 seconds into the sudden victory period to defeat Redlands, 8-7. On its first possession of the third OT period, senior Janis Pardy found McKeon on the left side of the perimeter. The Coronado, Calif., native (a suburb of San Diego) pumped before finishing into the far post from the hard angle. It was her first goal during McKeon's senior campaign.
The Hoosiers trailed early in the contest. After a Pardy goal at the 3:52 mark of the first period, Redlands scored a pair of goal in the final 2:30 of the period to take a 2-1 lead. Soria evened the match at two just over two minutes into the second period. Pardy found Soria on the weak side for the tally. Redlands finished the first half with a pair of goals including the final one with 25 seconds remaining, which gave the Bulldogs a two-goal advantage at the break.
Meadows tied the contest with a pair of six-on-five goals in the third period. Zimmerman found Meadows for the first tally at the 5:15 mark, before Pardy hit the fellow senior with 1:17 remaining in the period.
Indiana took its first lead since 1-0 with 5:17 remaining in the fourth period. On the counter, Pyrz found Pardy down the right side of the pool. The former Canadian Junior International found Soria for the second time in the match on the weak side. Soria pushed the ball into the left side of the net for her first multi-goal game as a Hoosier.
The two teams would trade punches over the ensuing possession. The Bulldogs pulled even with a six-on-five goal at the 4:10 mark. On the next possession, IU answered back to take a one-goal advantage, 6-5. Zernicke, who returned to the Hoosier lineup after missing the opening weekend of the season, stepped in from five meters and drilled a shot into the right side of net. Redlands again responded with a lob shot from the perimeter with 3:31 remaining. Neither team would score over the remainder of the fourth period, as the Hoosiers went to overtime for the third time on the young season.
Neither IU nor Redlands found the back of the net in the first three-minute overtime period. Soria drew a four-meter penalty in the post with 1:06 remaining in the second overtime period. Pardy scored the penalty shot to give IU a 7-6 lead. Like it had on two occasions in the fourth period, Redlands answered to send the game to sudden victory. With just five seconds remaining, the Bulldogs drew an ejection and scored with the advantage, which set up McKeon's final dramatics.
Pardy finished the Redlands contest with four assists for the second time this season. Soria led IU with three kickouts earned, including the four-meter penalty in the overtime period. Pyrz had a career-high 13 saves, including four with Indiana a player down. She also finished with a career-high four steals.
The Hoosiers will face the host No. 17 UC-San Diego at 12:10 p.m. at the West Canyon View pool. Indiana will also be in a bracket with No. 12 UC-Irvine and No. 15 UC-Davis. UC-Irvine and UC-Davis play prior to the UC-San Diego and IU match. The winners will play at 4:50 p.m., for fifth place in the invite, while the other two teams will square off at 3:40 p.m., for seventh place. Against the Tritons, the Hoosiers will look to avenge a season-opening loss. UCSD knocked off IU, 10-9, in overtime on Feb. 4 at the Michigan Kickoff Tournament.
Players Mentioned
