No. 10 Indiana women’s water polo returned to Mountain Pacific Sports Federation conference play Saturday following the Aztec Invitational last weekend, traveling to Tempe, Arizona, to play No. 8 Arizona State University.
The Sun Devils started the match off hot, scoring twice inside the first two minutes. The Hoosiers answered with a goal each from junior attacker Louisa Downes and senior center Sophia Sollie. A strike from junior utility player Nicole Tyner was sandwiched between two Arizona State goals, with the Sun Devils leading 4-3 after one quarter.
Each side traded goals as the second quarter progressed, with Downes scoring two more goals in what proved to be a career-tying six-goal performance for the reigning MPSF Player of the Week.
Downes has quickly proven to be one of Indiana’s best scorers this season. After scoring 30 goals in 31 games in the 2023-24 season, she has already tallied 48 goals through only 22 games this season, just behind senior attacker Skylar Kidd’s team-best tally of 51 goals.
Kidd has also managed to match her goal output from last season in nine fewer games. Both forwards are on track to surpass Sollie’s team-leading 57 goals from last season.
Entering the second half down 7-6, Indiana quickly equalized through senior attacker Grace Hathaway. The Hoosiers continued to play catch up through the third quarter, matching two straight Sun Devil goals with their own. Despite their resilience, Arizona State entered the fourth quarter with a 10-9 lead.
Having been on Arizona State’s heels all afternoon, Indiana started to run out of gas. Following a goal from junior goalkeeper Jasmine Higgs, her third this season, the Sun Devils scored four straight goals to put the game out of reach for the Hoosiers. Despite a late consolation strike by Downes, the gap proved too large as Indiana lost 16-11.
Despite consistent performances in tournament invitationals, Indiana is 0-3 in MPSF conference play. Sitting at the bottom of the standings, the Hoosiers play two straight home games, in desperate need of conference victories.
Indiana returns home at noon March 29 to the Counsilman-Billingsley Aquatic Center in Bloomington to continue MPSF conference play against the University of California, Berkeley.
