No. 17 Indiana water polo returned to its winning ways over the weekend, winning four games at the Aztec Invitational in San Diego to get its season back on track.
Indiana started the tournament off with the first of two games Saturday, taking on No. 12 Princeton University. The Hoosiers drew first blood inside the first minute, but Princeton proved resilient early on as each team traded goals throughout the first quarter.
Heading into the second quarter, Indiana scored three straight goals to make the score 6-3, a lead the Hoosiers used to keep the Tigers at arm’s length for the rest of the game. Indiana outscored Princeton the rest of the half, leading 9-5 at the break.
Senior attacker Skylar Kidd scored two straight goals to increase the Hoosiers’ lead to 5 to start the second half. The Tigers responded with three straight goals of their own, leaving the score 12-9 to the Hoosiers with one quarter to go.
Each side exchanged goals to start the fourth quarter, with senior attacker Olivia Stark scoring the Hoosiers’ final goal of the game. Down 14-11, Princeton clawed its way back with two goals, including one with just over a minute remaining. Indiana, however, stood firm to keep its one-goal lead intact, clamping down on Princeton to hold onto victory, 14-13.
The second match Saturday saw Indiana face off against California State University, Fullerton. The Titans got off to a fast start, scoring twice in the opening two minutes. Indiana then recollected itself, scoring three straight goals in the middle of the first quarter, including back-to-back goals from Kidd.
Junior attacker Louisa Downes scored what proved to be the start of a six-goal run for Indiana, which included two further goals from both Downes and Kidd. With the score reading 10-4 in favor of Indiana, the Hoosiers took their foot off the proverbial gas pedal.
Cal State Fullerton was not able to muster up a comeback, however, as Indiana cruised to a 13-7 victory to wrap up Saturday’s games.
Moving on to Sunday, Indiana matched up against the tournament hosts, playing No. 20 San Diego State University. Senior utility player Portia Sasser opened the scoring for Indiana, and following the Aztecs’ equalizer, Downes scored back-to-back goals as the Hoosiers scored five straight en route to a dominant first quarter.
As the scoreline read 6-2 to start the second quarter, further goals from junior attacker Grace Klingler and junior utility player Nicole Tyner increased the Hoosier lead to 5. San Diego State ended the half on a high note, cutting its deficit to 3 by halftime.
After the Aztecs’ third straight goal following the break, Indiana took over the game. Scoring six of the next seven goals, Indiana rolled over San Diego State, a run which saw the Hoosiers go from leading 8-6 with six minutes left in the third to leading 14-7 with only one minute left to play as the Hoosiers won 14-8.
For the last game of the day and the tournament, Indiana matched up against No. 8 Harvard University. The first quarter set the tone for the rest of the match, with the score tied at 4 as Indiana and Harvard traded goals.
Indiana took the lead to start the second quarter through Downes’ and Sasser’s goals as the pair ultimately combined for four goals each for the game. Harvard refused to give the Hoosiers an inch, however, coming back to level the score at 8 at the break.
Indiana continued to attempt to put distance between itself and Harvard, but the Crimson continued to match the Hoosiers step for step. Just like the previous quarters, the game found itself tied at 11 after the third quarter.
Entering the fourth, Sasser and senior attacker Grace Hathaway combined to give Indiana a 13-11 lead, but Harvard managed to tie the game at 14 with three minutes left.
With just over a minute remaining, the Crimson managed to snatch a late lead. In danger of squandering the game, Downes netted a crucial equalizer with 11 seconds remaining to send the match into overtime.
After the first quarter of overtime went scoreless, Harvard managed to jump in front. The Crimson weren’t the only ones to dig deep, though, as Downes hit another late equalizer to send the game into triple overtime.
With a third overtime period meaning sudden death, the match hung in the balance. It swung in the direction of Indiana as Sasser scored within the first 30 seconds to mark the Hoosiers’ second victory over Harvard this season, winning 17-16.
Indiana water polo next travels on Saturday to Tempe, Arizona, to continue Mountain Pacific Sports Federation conference play against Arizona State University.
With the season potentially getting out of hand after a 2-6 run, Indiana delivered a greatly needed performance to put itself back into MPSF championship contention. Currently sitting on an 0-2 conference record with five straight conference games on the horizon, Indiana will be aiming to run the table heading into April.
