No. 9 Hoosiers Too Much for No. 16 UCSB

Sunday, February 12

La Jolla, Calif.

8:30 AM

Indiana University

UC Santa Barbara

Shae Fournier tied a career-high with four goals in the win.

2/12/2012 12:00:00 AM | Women's Water Polo

Feb. 12, 2012

LA JOLLA, Calif. - The No. 9 Indiana Hoosiers women's water polo team (7-3) defeated No. 16 UC Santa Barbara for the second time in two weeks at the Triton Invitational to advance to the fifth place game against No. 17 Maryland at 3:10 p.m. PT. The Hoosiers were fueled by a three-goal run in the second half to separate from the Gauchos and earn the 7-5 win.

Sophomore Shae Fournier led the charge for Indiana, equaling her career-high of four goals for the seventh time. Fournier notched a second half hat trick in the win and grabbed a team-high four steals.

Freshman Colleen McNaught, sophomore Amanda Redfern, and freshman Shelby Taylor each recorded one goal for the Hoosiers. Redfern also earned an exclusion and a five-meter penalty that led to an IU goal in the fourth quarter.

Senior goalkeeper Cassie Wyckoff posted 10 saves on 25 UCSB shot attempts, marking her eighth double-digit save performance of the 2012 campaign.

Taylor got the Hoosiers going at the 5:31 mark of the opening period, scoring from up top to grab the 1-0 lead after the assist by Fournier. UCSB quickly responded with a power play goal near two-meters to tie things up.

The back-and-forth affair continued as Fournier converted from deep after the McNaught assist to give the Hoosiers the 2-1 advantage. McNaught finished with a team-high two assists and has registered six multi-assist games on the year.

The second quarter was a struggle for both offenses until the Gauchos grabbed some momentum with back-to-back goals with under two minutes to play, giving UCSB the 3-2 lead. The lead was brief as Redfern turned and fired in from the post with 20 seconds remaining after the assist by freshman Katie Contreras to knot things up at the break.

After scoring to end the half, Redfern was on the helping end of the go-ahead goal in the third quarter, kicking the ball out of the post to an open McNaught for the score.

UCSB came back in late stages of the third period with a skip shot goal to tie the game at 4-4, but the Hoosiers once again seized an opportunity in the final minute of the quarter with Fournier scoring to put IU back on top.

Fournier added two fourth quarter goals and the Hoosiers controlled the remainder of the contest. The first goal came off an assist by freshman Summer Creighton and the second was a five-meter penalty shot after Redfern earned the foul.

UCSB pulled within two at the 2:03 mark of the fourth with a goal as the shot clock expired, but they would get no closer as the Hoosiers earned a trip to the fifth place game.