No. 17 Indiana water polo traveled to Irvine, California, to play in the Barbara Kalbus Invitational tournament this weekend, matching up against four straight ranked opponents.
University of Hawai’i at Mānoa
The Hoosiers started the tournament Friday, matching up against No. 5 University of Hawai'i at Mānoa. The Rainbow Warriors started strong, taking a 3-0 lead just five minutes into the game. Junior attacker Louisa Downes opened the scoring for Indiana, but Hawaii’s defense constricted Indiana’s attack, leading to a 7-2 halftime score in favor of Hawaii.
Entering the second half, the Hoosiers attempted to put up a fight with junior attacker Grace Klingler scoring two third quarter goals, including one as time expired. Despite an improved performance in the second half, the Rainbow Warriors’ first-half lead was too large a deficit to overcome as Indiana fell in its first tournament game, 10-6.
University of California, Santa Barbara
Indiana played the first of two tournament games Saturday against No. 18 University of California, Santa Barbara. As both sides slowly warmed up to the game, Indiana struck first thanks to Downes’ score. Two late goals from both sides, including one from senior attacker Grace Hathaway for Indiana, led to a 2-1 scoreline after the first quarter. The Hoosiers stood firm in the second quarter with senior utility player Portia Sasser scoring in the last seconds of the half as Indiana cruised to a 5-1 halftime lead.
After Indiana took a 6-1 lead a couple of minutes into the second half, the Gauchos mounted a comeback, scoring four straight goals to leave the score at 6-5. It was a back-and-forth contest the rest of the way with Indiana taking a 9-7 lead with four minutes left in the game. UCSB rallied, however, tying the game at 9 with 33 seconds remaining, sending the match into the first of three total overtimes Indiana played throughout the weekend.
Indiana started overtime with a goal from Downes after only 20 seconds. The Hoosiers extended their overtime lead to 2 after senior center Sophia Sollie’s strike with 41 seconds remaining. Despite a nervy finish, including a goal for UCSB five seconds after Sollie’s goal, the Hoosiers held on to win in overtime, 11-10.
Arizona State University
Later that same day, Indiana played its third match of the tournament against No. 10 Arizona State University. The two teams were evenly matched to start the game, with the score tied at 3 after the first quarter. The second quarter was tightly contested, and despite senior attacker Skylar Kidd scoring to retake the Hoosiers’ lead, the Sun Devils rallied with three late goals to take a 6-4 lead into the break.
While Downes cut the lead to 1 to open the second half, the two sides continued to trade blows. After Hathaway scored three straight goals heading into the fourth quarter, goals from Sasser and Downes gave the Hoosiers a 12-11 lead with just over a minute remaining. Needing a late stroke of magic, Arizona State found gold, scoring the equalizing goal with four seconds left to send Indiana to its second overtime of the day.
Fortune wasn’t on Indiana’s side this time, however. Arizona State freshman attacker Itziar Almeda scored twice in overtime, including one goal with one second remaining, crushing Indiana’s hopes as it fell to a 14-12 defeat.
University of California, Davis
Indiana wrapped up its tournament Sunday by facing No. 8 University of California, Davis. The Aggies broke the deadlock after one minute. Kidd’s goal for Indiana split a four-goal first quarter for UC Davis. Kidd led the Hoosiers’ charge in the second quarter, scoring twice as Indiana pulled closer and managed to cut the UC Davis lead to 1 by halftime, trailing 6-5.
Indiana took the lead for the first time halfway through the third quarter, with Sasser, Downes and Sollie combining for goals. Downes continued to impress, scoring three second-half goals as the Hoosiers led 10-8 with seven minutes left in the game. The Aggies then scored two straight to tie the match with less than three and a half minutes left. Both sides took turns trading goals, with the Hoosiers eventually taking a 12-11 lead with 44 seconds remaining.
Despite Indiana trying its best to hold on, they gave up another late equalizer as UC Davis scored with nine seconds left to tie the game at 12, sending the Hoosiers to their third straight overtime finish.
The scoring continued in overtime, with Downes scoring her fourth goal of the contest. UC Davis equalized near the end of the first of two overtime periods.
With 49 seconds left in the second period of overtime, Klingler gave Indiana a 14-13 lead. The Aggies cut the Hoosiers’ celebrations short, however, netting a goal with 16 seconds remaining. With one last push as the clock ticked toward zero, Sollie scored a last-second goal to silence the Irvine crowd. The Hoosiers escaped their last game of the weekend with a 15-14 overtime victory.
Indiana water polo’s next matches will take place March 8-9 as Indiana travels to Los Angeles to face USC and UCLA.
With the last-gasp winner over UC Davis ending a mixed tournament performance on a high note, Indiana will be entering a stretch of games that could decide which tune its season sings.
