Indiana water polo extended its red hot start to the 2025 season as it picked up five crucial wins to remain undefeated in the Bruno Invite over the weekend.
Kicking off their weekend in Providence, Rhode Island, on Jan. 31, the No. 12 Hoosiers started their campaign facing Marist University.
Indiana jumped to a 2-0 lead with goals from its superstar senior duo Skylar Kidd and Sophia Sollie, but Marist was quick to respond, scoring two goals of its own. Throughout the first half, both teams went back and forth with Kidd scoring the tying goal with just 7.6 seconds on the clock.
The second half was all about defense for the Hoosiers as they were able to knock in three goals before Marist could get on the board. A dominant third quarter gave Indiana a comfortable 11-6 lead, which transitioned to a forceful 3-1 fourth quarter, giving the Hoosiers their fifth win of the season with a final score of 14-7.
The Hoosiers kicked off a two-game Feb. 1 schedule against La Salle University. Indiana was able to keep a lead throughout the first quarter with help from seniors Grace Hathaway and Portia Sasser as they finished it off, both scoring goals to make the lead 4-2. The second quarter was the same story as Kidd was able to nail one into the net as the half ended, putting the score at 7-4.
The third quarter was all about the Explorers, who started off with two straight goals and put up four total, but Indiana held strong and retained a 10-8 lead heading into the fourth. The Hoosiers were able to put the game away with back-to-back goals from Klingler and sophomore Nancy Baylor-Sefchick, who notched five goals on five shots.
A dominant final quarter gave Indiana the 16-11 win.
An electrifying game against Brown University started with two goals from Indiana junior Louisa Downes, but the contest leveled out as the back and forth game commenced with the Hoosiers leading 5-4 after one quarter. The second quarter was high scoring with both teams putting five into the net and Indiana holding onto its one point lead.
Indiana exploded in the third, going on a 4-1 run and taking a 14-11 lead with help from Kidd’s first goal of the match. But Brown soon turned it into a one-point game in the fourth quarter with just five minutes remaining. A few more back and forth goals left the game tied at 15 a piece, and all seemed lost when Indiana couldn’t convert a six on five opportunity with 13 seconds left.
That was until goalkeeper Jasmine Higgs heaved the ball down as time expired, hitting the crossbar and sneaking the ball into the goal for the buzzer beater, preserving the undefeated season.
On Sunday, the Hoosiers traveled to Cambridge, Massachusetts, to finish off the Bruno Invite with games against No. 19 Harvard University and Wagner College.
Starting off the day with a tall task against Harvard, it went goal-for-goal with Indiana, resulting with the Hoosiers leading by one after the first quarter. Harvard pulled away with a two-goal lead at the half as Indiana was kept to just one goal during the second quarter.
The Hoosiers mounted their early third quarter comeback with goals from seniors Sollie and Sasser to tie the game at 7 apiece. Indiana went on to score three more unanswered goals to secure its largest lead of the game at 10-7 at the end of the third quarter. It carried the momentum into the final quarter, helping secure the win over Harvard 14-10.
To finish off the weekend, Indiana started off hot, jumping to an early 5-1 lead in the first quarter against Wagner. The Hoosiers carried their momentum into the second, with goals from Klinger and Sollie, leading 9-3 at the break. A slow, two-goal third quarter from Indiana let the Seahawks stay competitive, but five goals in the fourth quarter put the game away for good with a final score of 16-11.
The Hoosiers come back home next weekend to host the Midwest Invite and will kick off the weekend against Michigan at noon on Saturday at the Counsilman-Billingsley Aquatic Center in Bloomington.
