Hoosiers Fall to Top-Seeded Princeton in Overtime

Saturday, April 28

Lewisburg, PA

4:30 PM

Indiana University

Princeton (Semifinals)

Hoosiers Fall to Top-Seeded Princeton in Overtime

4/28/2018 7:40:00 PM | Women's Water Polo

Box Score (PDF)Tournament Schedule Live Stream Hub

Indiana advances to third-place battle with Hartwick on Sunday

LEWISBURG, Pa. – Indiana suffered a heartbreaking overtime defeat to No. 1-seed Princeton in the CWPA Championship semifinals on Saturday afternoon at Kinney Natatorium. The Hoosiers (25-8) tied the game late in regulation and took a brief lead in the first overtime period, but the Tigers (23-7) found two goals down the stretch to claim the final spot in Sunday's CWPA title game.

For the second game this weekend, redshirt junior Karrie Kozokar earned a hat trick with the overtime-forcing score late in the fourth quarter. Aiding the offensive effort was Joelle Nacouzi, who created four points with two goals and two assists. Sarah Myers provided an assist while scoring an equalizer in the last quarter of regulation.

Game 33: No. 10 Princeton 10, No. 14 Indiana 8 (OT) // Box Score
Team              1 – 2 – 3 – 4 – 5 – 6 | F
IU:                   2 – 1 – 1 – 2 – 2 – 0 | 8
PRI:                0 – 1 – 4 – 1 – 2 – 2 | 10

The Hoosiers gave an all-out effort on the defensive end in the first half, led by five saves with just one goal allowed in the first 16 minutes from Jessica Gaudreault. That led to scoring success on the other end of the pool, starting with a goal from distance by Kelly Matthews on the first IU possession of the game. Myers crossed the pool to Nacouzi on the wing for a 2-0 lead at the five-minute mark.

The Tigers got on the board from a circumstantial goal two minutes into the second quarter. Haley Wan's shot took two deflections off of Indiana defenders but made its way to the netting, which cut the Hoosier lead in half.

But at the midway mark of the second, Myers forced a steal and a counterattack to set up Kozokar's first goal, a strong turnaround effort from the junior at center. Princeton attempted to pull within one before the break until Nacouzi's steal killed the possession, ending the half at 3-1 in IU's favor.

The momentum shifted to the higher seed after halftime. The Tigers opened the third with a goal, cutting the Hoosier lead to one, but Kozokar throttled Indiana's next chance into goal off of the crossbar. From there, Princeton rattled off a 3-0 run and forced a third ejection against Matthews, fouling her out for the last 10 minutes of regulation.

Trailing at 5-4, their first deficit of the game, Indiana rose to the challenge and got the goals they needed to force overtime. Sarah Young assisted Myers from the wing on their first possession of the fourth quarter, a power play opportunity. And after Princeton once again grabbed the lead, Kozokar scored the game-tying goal with three minutes left on the clock. Nacouzi provided the assist to Kozokar, who completed her second hat trick in as many days.

The Hoosiers forced a steal with short time on the regulation clock and drew a 2-on-1 break down the pool, but Princeton stuffed the play and sent the game to overtime.

Princeton scored on their first possession of the opening overtime period, scoring at two meters for a 7-6 lead. IU responded with back-to-back goals in 21 seconds, both created by Nacouzi. The standout sophomore scored the first from far out, assisted by Young, before making a cerebral play to intercept the next Princeton possession, drive down the pool, and leave a pass to Megan Abarta for the score.

Indiana's overtime lead didn't last long, however. The Tigers tied it up with 19 seconds left in the first extra period and scored two unanswered in the second set for a 10-8 win.

Up Next: CWPA Third-Place Game • #14 Indiana (25-8) vs. #13 Hartwick (29-11)
Sunday, April 29 • 12:00 p.m. ET • Kinney Natatorium • Lewisburg, Pa.
Live Stream • Tournament Schedule • Weekend Notes (PDF)

Indiana will wrap up their CWPA weekend tomorrow at noon in a third-place battle with third-seeded Hartwick. The Hawks began the weekend with a four-goal win over George Washington before falling to second-seeded Michigan, 9-5, in the CWPA semifinals. In the regular season showdown between the Hoosiers and Hawks, Hartwick emerged with a 13-11 victory.

Regardless of tomorrow's result, the Hoosiers will improve on their fifth-place finish at last year's CWPA Championship in Bloomington. Fans can follow the semifinals action via live stream or on Twitter @IndianaWPolo.