Indiana University Athletics
Indiana University
Bucknell (Princeton Invitational)
Third-Period Surge Propels Indiana Past Bucknell
2/17/2006 12:00:00 AM | Women's Water Polo
Feb. 17, 2006
PRINCETON, N.J. - The No. 17 Indiana women's water polo team used a 5-1 third period to surge past the Bucknell Bison, 12-9, in the opening game of the Princeton Invitational on Feb. 17. The 12 goals were a season high for the Hoosiers as juniors Kristin Zernicke and Brooke Zimmerman added hat tricks. With the victory, IU improved to 3-6 on the season.
"I really liked our response in second half," Indiana head coach Barry King said. "We took our half-court defense to a new level in the second half. We need to continue to play that type of defense and be familiar with that level of defending. We saw the benefit of good defense translating over to good play on the offensive end."
Trailing 6-5 at the half, IU scored the first four goals of the second half to open up a three-goal advantage. Sophomore Linda Calvert started the barrage for the Hoosiers with a fading shot into the left side of the net off a pass from senior Bridget McKeon less than 45 seconds in the third period. After a Zernicke steal and breakaway goal to the near post, junior Kara Woolley capped the four-goal IU run with a pair of tallies from the perimeter. With 4:21 remaining, Woolley scored to the upper left corner off an assist from McKeon before going cross cage into the right corner off the dish from senior Janis Pardy less than 40 seconds later. Bucknell drew back within two on a marker in the two-meter, but Calvert ended the period the way she started it with a backhanded goal in the post.
The Hoosiers twice extended the cushion to four goals in the final stanza, before the Bison drew to the final margin of 12-9. Junior Melissa Soria and Zimmerman tallied goals in the fourth period to give IU four-goal leads. Soria wrapped the ball around a defender and past the Bucknell goalkeeper with an impressive backhand just over a minute into the fourth, and Zimmerman scored from the seven-meter line with 4:46 remaining.
Zernicke opened the contest with a goal for IU on its initial possession. The Calgary, Alberta, Canada native stepped into open space and scored from the left side of the perimeter. The Bucknell goalkeeper was able to get a hand on the ball but not enough to keep it out of the goal, as she tipped into the upper corner. After the Bison drew even with a goal from the perimeter, the Hoosiers scored the next two tallies. Zimmerman added a six-on-five goal, while Soria scored on a backhand from the post off the assist from Zimmerman. The marker gave IU a 3-1 lead with 3:50 remaining in the first period. Bucknell knotted the score at three with a pair of power-play goals in the final minute of the period.
The Bison took their first lead of the contest with the opening goal of the second period with the man-advantage. Zimmerman evened it up with a four-meter goal at the 4:14 mark of the second. Sophomore Brittany Estrada drew the penalty after receiving a pass with a defender on her back. Bucknell tallied the next two markers of the half for its largest lead at 6-4. Zernicke pulled IU to within a goal at the half with a tally on the counter. Pardy found a wide open Zernicke, who fake the goalkeeper up and scored into the left side of the net.
Despite trailing by a goal at the half, the Hoosiers could have very well led at the intermission. In the first half, IU hit five goal posts and crossbars to go along with a failed four-meter chance. In total, Indiana hit 10 bars on the evening, but did manage to find the scoring column on 12-of-27 attempts from the field.
The hat trick was the first of Zernicke's Hoosier career. She scored two goals on nine different occasions over her first two seasons before adding a trio of markers against the Bison. For Zimmerman, it was her second hat trick in as many weekends. After joining the Hoosiers at the start of the spring semester, Zimmerman missed the opening tournament of the season at the Michigan Kickoff Tournament, before she registered a hat trick against then-No. 8 San Diego State on Feb. 11 at the UC-San Diego Triton Invitational.
Woolley, Soria and Calvert each notched a pair of goals on the evening. The two markers tied career-high totals for Soria and Calvert. McKeon, Zimmerman and Pardy had two assists apiece against the Bison, while Pardy led IU with three steals. Sophomore goalkeeper Jackie Pyrz finished with nine saves in net, including three with IU down a man.
The Hoosiers return to the pool with a pair of matches at the Princeton Invitational on Saturday, Feb. 18. Indiana opens the day against Brown at 2:15 p.m., before facing host and No. 18 Princeton in the nightcap at 7:30 p.m. IU closes out the invite against Harvard on Sunday, Feb. 19, at 1:20 p.m.
Players Mentioned
