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No. 9 Indiana Drops Concordia, 9-4
SANTA
BARBARA, Calif. – The No. 9 Indiana Hoosiers women's water polo team
(3-1) opened play at the UCSB Winter Invite with a 9-4 victory against
Concordia (Calif.) on Saturday led by a career-high-tying four goals
from sophomore Shae Fournier.
“I was pleased with our
defensive effort for the majority of the contest,” said Indiana head
coach Barry King. “We’re going to have to bring that same intensity for
the rest of the weekend.”
Along with Fournier’s four
goals, the Hoosiers received one goal apiece from sophomores Meghan
Lappan and Amanda Redfern, along with freshmen Nina Escobedo, Alexis
Jones, and Shelby Taylor.
Senior Cassie Wyckoff had a
stellar performance in the cage, finishing with 13 saves in 27 minutes
of action, including a five-meter penalty block in the third quarter.
Freshman Jojo White saw her first collegiate action during the fourth
quarter and collected a pair of stops.
Redfern got Indiana on the board first when she took a Fournier pass, turned and fired to give the Hoosiers the early 1-0 lead.
The
Eagles came back with a score two minutes later to briefly knot things
up until Lappan responded with a long range strike on another Fournier
assist. Late in the period, Fournier converted a power play goal on the
assist by freshman Colleen McNaught to give IU the 3-1 lead heading
into the second quarter.
After a relatively quiet second
quarter from both squads, Concordia looked to gain some momentum around
the four minute mark after a Wyckoff kickout briefly left the Hoosiers
without a goalkeeper, but Fournier came through with one of her
team-high four field blocks to thwart the attack. Fournier also
finished the game with team-highs of three assists and three steals.
The Hoosiers went up 4-1 at the 3:27 mark after junior Kym King kicked it out of the post to an open Fournier for the goal.
The Eagles pulled within two before the end of the half, scoring on a shot off the sidebar.
Indiana took control in the second half, fueled by a four-goal run with scores from Fournier (2), Taylor, and Jones.
The
first goal of the second half came off a precise assist from Wyckoff to
a wide open Fournier to give the Hoosiers a 5-2 lead. Four minutes
later, Lappan delivered a cross to Taylor who converted for the sixth
IU score of the contest.
Jones and Fournier expanded the
Indiana advantage early in the fourth with two goals, but Concordia
followed that up with a pair of scores to pull within four at the 3:42
mark.
Along with White’s first career saves coming in the
final quarter, Escobedo also tallied her first collegiate goal, firing
a shot into the back of the cage after the McNaught assist.
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