After a tough 13-8 home loss March 30 to the University of Southern California, No. 14 Indiana water polo hoped to snap its three-game losing streak when it headed out April 6 to Tempe, Arizona, to take on the No. 10 Arizona State University Sun Devils.
It was a back-and-forth match for the whole game, with Indiana having a chance to take the game to overtime on the last possession. However, The Sun Devils emerged with a 10-9 victory in the top 15 matchup.
ASU outshined Indiana defensively in blocks (14-4) but Indiana racked up more steals (11-9) and took care of the ball as it only committed two turnovers.
In the first frame, ASU drew a penalty within the first minute, but Indiana couldn’t connect on the penalty shot. About a minute after the penalty shot, junior attacker Skylar Kidd earned the Hoosiers first goal of the match.
The Sun Devils responded with two goals of their own. As time ticked down in the first quarter, sophomore attacker Grace Klingler notched a goal on a powerplay to get Indiana all square with ASU at two after the first quarter.
The Sun Devils took the lead in the second quarter with an early goal. Neither team could find the back of the net for most of the quarter until the Sun Devils scored with just under 90 seconds remaining to extend their lead.
In the final minute of the frame, Indiana capitalized on its second powerplay of the match with senior attacker Sophie Wazzan finding the back of the net to pull the Hoosiers within one going into the break.
It was a back and forth third quarter, with three ties and lead changes in the quarter. Both teams earned three goals apiece, with graduate student utility player Zoe Crouch logging two goals for Indiana, and junior Sophia Sollie finding the back of the net once for it as well. ASU also earned three goals in the frame, giving it a slight 7-6 advantage going into the final quarter.
Indiana tried to take advantage of the match in the fourth quarter with the score being tied at 8 at the 6:28 mark, with Crouch earning herself a hat trick. The Sun Devils quickly scored two goals to take the lead.
Crouch earned her fourth goal of the match to cut the deficit down to 1 for the Hoosiers with a minute to go, but their last possession of the match ended in a shot clock violation to give ASU a nail-biting victory.
Indiana travels out west again this weekend for back-to-back games against San Jose State University on Saturday and a match against Stanford University on Sunday.
