IU beats No. 7 San Jose State

Despite a lackluster performance in losing to their archrival Michigan, the women's water polo team had a good weekend at the Michigan Invitational.\nIn their first game of the tournament the Hoosiers knocked No. 16 Hartwick 10-8 to advance to the second round against Michigan. After a disappointing effort in losing 12-6, the Hoosiers put Saturday's games behind them and focused on Sunday's matchups with Michigan State and No. 7 San Jose State.\nIn the first game Sunday the Hoosiers beat the Spartans 14-7. The team then defeated No. 7 San Jose State 10-8 behind a dominant performance from senior All-American Kristin Stanford, who set a team record with six goals. \n"It was fun for us to beat them," Stanford said. "Last time we played they beat us pretty handily. We were playing pretty well as a team. The shooters did a pretty good job and we just played solid team offense."\nCoach Barry King said the key to the Hoosiers' success was their defense. The team's top two defenders Ginger Wang and Kristy Streefkerk were given the task of guarding the Spartan's top two scorers, and King said they effectively shut them down.\n"We played much better team defense and we also got two pretty outstanding defensive efforts on their two best offensive players," King said. "We didn't get that effort in the Michigan game."\nContinuing with the defensive-minded game played by the Hoosiers, goalkeeper Jessica Goldner had one of the strongest performances of her career. Goldner set a personal record stopping sixteen shots against the Spartans. She said the weekend was an impressive showcase for IU.\n"I think the team played unbelievably," Goldner said. "We had a little trouble in the Michigan game but we came back and showed everyone. (Beating San Jose State) says we have a lot of heart and skill. It means we have a lot to look forward to this season."\nAlong with the defense, the offense came to play as well. Stanford's performance made her the school's all time leading scorer with 184 goals. Fellow All-American Krista Peterson scored three goals on five shots. Peterson also had two steals and one assist. Freshman Courtney Livak scored the Hoosiers' final goal with ten seconds left against MSU to seal the game and mark the first time the Hoosiers have beaten the Spartans in four games.\n"It's a great start for us," King said. "It's the first win in our program's history over a top 10 team. That raises the level of expectations of people looking in."\nThe women have next weekend off before traveling to Stanford University for the Stanford Invitational, Feb. 8-9.