Indiana University Athletics
Indiana University
Hartwick
No. 11 Hoosiers Blast Past No. 16 Hartwick, 13-7
2/25/2012 12:00:00 AM | Women's Water Polo
Feb. 25, 2012
TROY, N.Y. - The No. 11 Indiana Hoosiers women's water polo team (9-3, 1-0 CWPA West) opened Collegiate Water Polo Association (CWPA) Western Division play with its highest scoring output of the 2012 season, defeating No. 16 Hartwick, 13-7, on Saturday morning at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.
The Hoosiers were led offensively by a pair of career-high hat tricks from freshman Summer Creighton and sophomore Meghan Lappan. Senior Hanna Eimstad and freshman Shelby Taylor registered two goals each. Freshman Katie Contreras recorded her first collegiate goal, and freshman Nina Escobedo and sophomore Shae Fournier had one apiece.
Senior goalkeeper Cassie Wyckoff knocked down 13 Hartwick shot attempts and grabbed a trio of steals. Wyckoff pulled within three of the IU all-time saves record with her performance against the Hawks. The Hoosier defense was rock solid as a whole, recording 11 field blocks in the win. Freshman Jojo White saw action during the final five minutes of the contest.
Indiana came out of the gates on a mission, getting on the board first when Creighton turned and fired after the Taylor assist. Taylor notched a goal of her own two minutes later on a Fournier dish to put the Hoosiers up 2-0 with four minutes left in the opening quarter. Fournier finished the contest with a team-high three assists, to go along with four steals, four field blocks, and four earned exclusions.
Hartwick scored their first goal with 2:49 to play in the first with a backhand strike, but Eimstad responded for the Hoosiers with a score after one of freshman Alynn Reade's two assists to give IU a 3-1 lead.
The Hawks again pulled within one with a goal at the 1:25 mark of the first quarter, but that was as close as they would get for the remainder of the contest as Indiana continued to apply pressure with consistent production on both ends.
Indiana went on a four-goal run to extend the lead, beginning with a long range Lappan goal with 16 seconds remaining in the first. Lappan added another score early in the second, followed by goals from Creighton and Escobedo to give the Hoosiers a 7-2 lead. The Hawks notched a goal in transition late in the period to cut the IU lead to four at the half.
The Hoosiers continued their high-scoring ways in the third, reeling off three straight goals to extend the lead to 10-3. Taylor got the second half rolling, following her own miss from close-range and sending it past the Hartwick goalkeeper. Taylor's goal was followed by a power play skip shot from Contreras and a six-on-five score by Creighton.
The Hawks put together their first score of the second half with a goal at the 1:45 mark of the third to briefly pull within six until Fournier came back 30 seconds later with a long-range shot that put the Hoosiers up 11-4.
Early in the fourth, Lappan rounded out her hat trick with a power play goal after Reade drew the exclusion and dished out the assist. Eimstad finished up the IU scoring with a conversion with 6:21 to play.
Hartwick posted a trio of goals in the final period to end the division opening contest.
The Hoosiers will be back in action on Saturday afternoon against Brown at 2:00 p.m., followed by Marist at 4:45 p.m.
| Box Score | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | F |
| No. 11 Indiana | 4 | 3 | 4 | 2 | 13 |
| No. 16 Hartwick | 2 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 7 |
Indiana Goals: Creighton 3, Lappan 3, Eimstad 2, Taylor 2, Contreras 1, Escobedo 1
Indiana Saves: Wyckoff 13
