Junior goaltender Jessica Gaudreault said the No. 14 IU water polo team has been focused on the same thing it has all season following a 3-2 record at the Santa Barbara Invite — defense.
That is the mindset for IU this weekend as it faces another tough schedule in Providence, Rhode Island, at the Bruno Classic.
“Defense wins championships,” Gaudreault said. “It is huge for us because we have so much experience in that area. Most of our defense is filled with players who compete at the international level, so it’s definitely one of our strengths.”
The Hoosiers have given up a total of 43 goals in five games this season, but 20 of those came in a loss against No. 3 UCLA.
IU gave up 7.63 goals per game last season without Gaudreault, who sat out the season to prepare for the Olympics. Now she’s back, and excluding the game against UCLA, the Hoosiers have given up 5.75 goals per game.
Freshman 2-meter Mollie Williams said the team is improving its teamwork and ball movement too.
“Our defense is our No. 1 focus,” she said. “With good defense comes good attacking. Our main focuses for this weekend is good defense, working together and making sure that everyone is on the same page in the pool.”
IU will go up against another ranked opponent this weekend in No. 19 Wagner and will also play Marist, which received the most votes of any team outside the Collegiate Water Polo Association rankings.
After the conclusion of the last invite, IU Coach Ryan Castle said his team has improvised on the offensive side of the ball and emphasized IU has have been working on its mistakes from Santa Barbara.
“We’ve worked a little bit on our offense, but we’ve mainly been practicing on taking care of the ball,” he said. “Our offense is growing little by little, but it’s getting little attention in practice because we have so many goal scorers that are huge threats for defenses.”
Castle praised junior defender Kelly Matthews for winning CWPA Player of the Week after her performances in the last invite. He said without her leadership and adjustments she made mid-game, the Hoosiers wouldn’t have been as successful in the pool.
“She did a really good job for us, and she was crucial for everything we did,” he said. “We rely on her a lot on defense and to move the ball down the pool as well. It was a well deserved award because she led us past a top 10 team. We’ve got a lot of people that can step into roles to put the ball away. I’m really proud of Kelly, and I think she’s just a reflection of where we are as a team because anyone can step up.”
Castle said the leaders on the team have been crucial this season. He said they have been great in-game managers and have kept the team chemistry high.
“We would be lost without our seniors and leaders right now,” he said. “They’re doing all the work behind the scenes and making sure everyone is organized. Jess is doing really good in the water at holding everyone accountable.”
IU will start the Bruno Classic off by facing Marist and No. 19 Wagner on Saturday. It will conclude the weekend by playing Azusa Pacific and having a scrimmage against the hosts, Brown.
