No. 10 Indiana water polo returned to Counsilman-Billingsley Aquatic Center in Bloomington for the first of two home conference games, welcoming No. 5 University of California, Berkeley on Saturday.
Senior center Sophia Sollie opened the scoring for Indiana just after two minutes played. Five minutes into the game, junior attacker Louisa Downes quickly scored after a Cal equalizer. After junior attacker Grace Klingler gave the Hoosiers a 3-2 lead, the Golden Bears scored twice to end the first quarter with a 4-3 advantage.
After junior utility player Nicole Tyner tied the score at 4 entering the second quarter, Cal slammed its foot on the gas pedal. Indiana’s resistance slowly caved in as the Golden Bears scored four of the last five goals to end the half.
With the score reading 8-5 in favor of Cal at halftime, the Golden Bears kept the pressure up, scoring only 20 seconds into the restart. After a strike from Indiana senior attacker Olivia Stark, Cal scored four of the next five goals to secure a 13-7 lead after the third quarter.
With the game essentially out of reach for Indiana with a quarter still to play, the Hoosiers ran out of steam, but the Golden Bears still had room in the fuel tank. Cal outscored Indiana 6-3 the rest of the way en route to a comfortable away victory. Indiana lost 19-10.
While Indiana’s conference record continues to worsen, the Hoosiers still have time to fix team issues. The offensive attack is yet to slow this season, with Downes and senior attacker Skylar Kidd being the standouts. Kidd has scored 55 goals so far this season, already besting her previous record of 51 goals last year. Downes has claimed 53 goals as well this season. Both are on pace to surpass Sollie’s team-leading 57 goals from last year.
However, Indiana has to revamp on the defensive side. During their last three games, the Hoosiers have conceded 51 goals. While these three opponents — No. 20 San Diego State University, then-No. 8 Harvard University and then-No. 8 Arizona State University — have all been ranked, Indiana is currently the No. 10 ranked team. If the Hoosiers want to compete for a championship, their defense against ranked opponents must improve.
Indiana plays its second straight home conference game against San José State University at noon Saturday at the Counsilman-Billingsley Aquatic Center.
