Hoosiers experience weekend of firsts at Stanford Invitational

Until this weekend the Hoosiers had never beaten California. They had never beaten Hawaii. They had never beaten two top ten opponents in the same day. \nNever, that is, until this weekend at the Stanford Invitational in Palo Alto, Calif. \nIU started off the weekend defeating No. 6 California 8-5 in the opening game on Saturday. IU struck first and quickly mounted a 2-0 lead. Cal responded with three unanswered goals, but the Hoosiers didn't let up and took a 6-5 advantage into the second half. The Hoosiers scored two more goals in the second half, but they would be unneeded, as they shut out the Golden Bears in the final two periods of play. \n"Our defense in the second half was amazing," IU coach Barry King said. "For these women to shutout the country's sixth-ranked team in the second half is pretty impressive. I was very pleased with the effort that we put forth."\nIn the second game of the day the Hoosiers defeated another top-10 opponent, beating No. 7 Hawaii. IU led 3-2 after the first period and 6-4 at the half. Hawaii moved within one point in the third period, but the IU defense shut them out in the final period of play to end the game with an 8-7 advantage. \n"We played strong against Hawaii," King said. "It was a much more physical game than our morning game against Cal. We responded to it and did a good job of adjusting from the morning. We did really well considering how physical they were." \nThe Hoosiers strong play continued on Sunday against No. 2 USC, but they fell short of victory to the defending national champions. After entering the second half trailing 5-1 the Hoosiers continued to fight, scoring two goals in both the third and fourth period. However, the Trojans didn't let up either, scoring four goals of their own in the second half to record a 9-5 victory.\n"I am proud of the way the ladies played against the No. 2 team in the country," King said. "After an impressive day on Saturday, we didn't rest on our laurels. We came out and played hard against the defending national champions. In this invitational, we have had three different matches and responded to the challenge each time." \nAfter taking on three tough opponents in the every game of the Invitational, the fourth would be no easier. The Hoosiers had the daunting task of taking on the No. 3 team in the nation, Stanford. Trailing 4-1 after the first period the Hoosiers fought back to record a 6-4 deficit at the half. The Cardinal, however, scored five unanswered goals in the third period and both teams went scoreless in the final period as the Hoosiers were defeated 11-4.\n"We fought hard against Stanford, but we just ran out of gas in the second half," King said. "We are not use to having to put four great efforts together in a row like that, and I think it showed in the second half against Stanford." \nThe loss put the Hoosiers to 4-3 on the season. Three of the victories have come against top ten opponents. While the losses have been to the No. 1, No. 2 and No. 3 teams in the nation. \n"All and all, the women gave a terrific effort against some of the best teams in the country," King said. "It is definitely the best series of four games against top competition that Indiana has ever had"