Hoosiers Wrap Up First Stretch of 2019 Indiana Classic

Friday, March 1

Bloomington, Ind.

7:00 PM ET

Indiana University

Salem

Hoosiers Wrap Up First Stretch of 2019 Indiana Classic

3/2/2019 11:30:00 PM | Women's Water Polo

Bloomington, Ind. – The Indiana University water polo team kicked off the 2019 Indiana Classic with a bang. The Hoosiers opened up the weekend with a 14-9 win on Friday night against Salem University before tacking on a second win Saturday morning against Mercyhurst. Indiana ended their two-game winning streak during their third match-up of the weekend on Saturday evening falling short against No. 15 Wagner.

No. 20 Indiana 14, Salem 9
The Hoosiers began the invite weekend with a back and forth battle for the lead in their first game against the Seahawks. Indiana finally took control during the second half collecting nine of the teams 14 goals.

Freshman Tina Doherty led the way in scoring tossing in four goals, while four other Hoosiers grabbed another two apiece. Junior Megan Abarta had a season high of four assists for Indiana to go with one field block and a steal.

Emily Powell, Izzy Mandema and Juli Hilovsky joined Abarta's offensive efforts providing another two assists each for a team total of 12, wrapping up Friday night with a season high in team assists.

No. 20 Indiana 13, Mercyhurst 7
Indiana came back on Saturday morning ready to defend their victory from the night before, this time challenging the Mercyhurst Lakers. The Hoosiers grabbed four goals quickly in the first quarter and added another five in the second.

Doherty earned Indiana's first goal within 15 seconds of the opening sprints from a 5-meter penalty shot, while Hannah Falls-Hand added another 5-meter goal during the fourth quarter. In total the Hoosiers scored eight times during penalty plays, six of which coming from powerplay attacks. Mandema topped the Hoosiers scoring efforts with four goals while Falls-Hand matched a season high of three.

While on defense, the Hoosiers went to work on the Lakers swiping 13 steals and drawing out nine exclusions. Powell posted four of Indiana's steals while Mandema also earned four exclusions.

No. 15 Wagner 11, No. 20 Indiana 2
The Indiana Crabb Band filled the stadium during their top-25 showdown of the weekend creating an excitement that filled the Counsilman Billingsley Aqcuatic Center. Unfortunately, the Hoosiers fell short to the Seahawks for the first time in 13 years ending their 16-game all-time series winning streak.

The Hoosiers found themselves in a pinch early on as the Seahawks quickly took the lead scoring six goals in the first half. Hilovsky finally put Indiana on the board during the second quarter in a 6-on-5 powerplay before Doherty collected the Hoosiers second goal in the fourth.

Although the Hoosiers struggled to find their groove on offense, they showed an edge on defense that forced the Seahawks to stay alert. The team collected a total of seven drawn exclusions, five steals and two field blocks, while goalkeeper Sarah Greeven posted another 10 saves in the net.

Up Next: Third Day of the Indiana Classic • Sunday, March 3, 2019 • Tournament Central
No. 20 Indiana vs. CSU East Bay |8:00 a.m. ET | Live Stats • BTN Plus • FloSwimming
No. 20 Indiana vs. No. 23 CSU Northridge | 12:30 p.m. ET | Live Stats • BTN Plus • FloSwimming
Counsilman Billingsley Aquatic Center •Bloomington, Ind.

The Hoosiers will close out the 2019 Indiana Classic with two final games on Sunday including their second top-25 game of the weekend facing off against No. 23 Cal State Northridge.

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