Indiana University Athletics
Indiana University
George Washington
Hoosiers Open With Two Wins At Terrapin Invitational
2/17/2007 12:00:00 AM | Women's Water Polo
Feb. 17, 2007
COLLEGE PARK, Md. - The Indiana University women's water polo team opened the Terrapin Invitational with a 14-12 victory over the host Terrapins at the Eppley Recreation Center Natatorium on Saturday, Feb. 17. IU then followed that up with a 14-6 win over George Washington in the afternoon.
"I'm happy with the way we played overall," IU head coach Barry King said. "We were solid in the power play, a point of emphasis for us over the last few weeks. Melissa (Soria) did a good job after being away from competition for three weeks. She brought a lot of energy to us as well."
Maryland opened the game with a goal by Cathy Popaduik to take the early lead. The Hoosiers knotted the score on a goal by Brooke Zimmerman at the 5:54 mark in the first period and added another tally, this time by Melissa Soria off of a pass from Zimmerman with 4:51 left, gave IU the 2-1 advantage. The Terrapins came back to tie it up at 2-2 before Kelly Palmberg put Indiana back in front, 3-2, with 3:27 left. Maryland scored once more to close out the first period with the score standing at 3-3.
The two teams traded scores back and forth in the second frame, with the Hoosiers getting goals from Soria, Brittany Estrada and two from Zimmerman. Heading into halftime, the score was tied at 7-7.
IU dominated the third frame, as Soria scored three consecutive goals while Estrada and Emily Schmitt each added one to give the Hoosiers the 12-8 advantage heading into the final eight minutes. Another goal by Estrada with 6:10 left in the game gave IU the five-goal lead at 13-8, but Maryland then rattled off four straight tallies to cut the Hoosier advantage to just one, 13-12, with 1:10 remaining in play. Zimmerman put the Terrapins away with a goal at the 30-second mark off of a pass from Nicole Sands and wrapped up the win.
Soria led IU with five goals while Zimmerman tallied four. Zimmerman also had five assists in the IU victory while grabbing three steals. Jackie Pyrz had seven saves in goal for the Hoosiers.
In the afternoon matchup, the Hoosiers opened the game with three consecutive goals, one by Soria, one by Zimmerman and one by Palmberg. IU held a 3-1 advantage heading into the end of the first period. Indiana again scored three goals to open the second frame and led at halftime, 6-3.
In the third frame, the Hoosiers exploded for five goals, including three from Soria. Zimmerman and Kristin Zernicke scored one apiece in the period and gave Indiana the commanding 11-3 advantage. George Washington opened the final period with two goals from Marissa Stamler, but IU answered with three goals of their own to take a 14-5 lead. George Washington scored once more in the closing minute, but it was not enough, as IU closed out the game with the score at 14-6.
Soria scored five goals in the second contest of the day for IU, while Zimmerman added four. Five other Hoosiers tallied one goal each, and Zimmerman also added three assists. In goal, Katie Carson had seven saves in three frames in the cage while Sarah Larson had one save in the final period.
The Hoosiers will be in action next on Sunday, Feb. 18, when they wrap up play at the Terrapin Invitational. IU will take on Hartwick at 9:15 a.m. EST and Princeton at 11:45 a.m.
Players Mentioned
