Indiana University Athletics
Indiana University
Harvard
Indiana Escapes Late Harvard Rally, Wins 9-7
4/25/2009 12:00:00 AM | Women's Water Polo
April 25, 2009
CWPA Eastern Championship Results
CAMBRIDGE, Mass. - Sophomore Lauren Wyckoff scored four goals, including a clutch five meter penalty shot with 16 seconds remaining, to help the No. 4 seed Indiana Hoosiers (20-16, 8-2 CWPA West) escape with a 9-7 win against No.8 seed Harvard in the consolation bracket at the CWPA Eastern Championship on Saturday in Cambridge, Mass. Harvard reeled off six consecutive goals in the fourth quarter to get within one, before Wyckoff sealed the game.
"We didn't play with a lot of composure during that fourth quarter run," said Indiana head coach Barry King. "We have to keep our focus for 32 minutes."
Wyckoff tallied the first goal of the game for Indiana, swimming past a Harvard defender and scoring on a short lob shot. Freshman Jakie Köhli followed that up by entering the ball to senior Maggie Hannon, who kicked it back to Köhli for a skip shot goal to give the Hoosiers a 2-0 lead.
Harvard got into the scoring act late in the first period, converting on a power play goal from long range. The Hoosiers would come back with a power play score of their own when sophomore Nicole Redder quickly found Wyckoff near the goal and she would nail her second goal of the contest.
The second quarter featured only one goal, which came from Köhli, who tossed in a left-handed shot after a long pass from junior Nicole Sands to give the Hoosiers a 4-1 lead at the break.
Freshman Cassie Wyckoff got the start at goalkeeper and finished the game with 10 saves on 29 Harvard shot attempts. She played a solid opening half, racking up eight of those blocks in the first 16 minutes of play.
Indiana would continue to extend their lead to begin the second half, notching three goals while shutting out Harvard during the third quarter. The first Hoosier goal came 22 seconds into the period, on a six on five opportunity that carried over from the end of the second quarter. Redder caught a cross pass from Köhli and fired a shot into the upper left corner of the cage to give Indiana a 5-1 advantage. Less than a minute later, sophomore Kelsey Campbell missed a shot from deep, but Lauren Wyckoff was there for a rebound put-back score. The last score of the third period came at the 5:23 mark when Köhli connected again with Redder on a similar cross pass, which she caught and looked off the Harvard goalie before nailing her second goal of the game to lift Indiana to a 7-1 lead as they entered the fourth quarter.
The game appeared to be well under control early in the fourth quarter after Redder entered the ball to Hannon, who spun and wheeled in a nifty goal to give Indiana a comfortable seven goal lead.
Harvard had other plans, as they would reel off six unanswered goals to bring them within one goal of the Hoosiers with under a minute to play. The Harvard run included four power play scores in a 2:35 time span. Harvard converted on five of 13 power plays throughout the contest. Meanwhile, Indiana finished with four goals on 10 six on five chances.
Indiana had possession of the ball, up by one, with under a minute play when Wyckoff earned an important five meter penalty. Wyckoff would hammer home the goal to solidify the Indiana victory after the shocking fourth quarter rally by Harvard.
The win continues the Hoosiers unblemished all-time record against Harvard, as Indiana has won all nine meetings between the two teams.
Indiana will now advance to play in the 5th place game at 11:30 a.m. ET on Sunday, where they will meet No. 7 seed Princeton, a 9-6 winner over No. 6 seed Bucknell.
