No. 14 IU water polo traveled to Rhode Island this past weekend and picked up three wins in its last four Collegiate Water Polo Association conference games of the season.
IU took on two unranked opponents in Brown and Saint Francis to begin the weekend before facing off against No. 20 Harvard and No. 18 Hartwick.
The Hoosiers started by playing the Bears in their first match of the weekend. The Bears had a high-powered attack, but IU shut down Brown in the first half to take a commanding 7-0 lead.
IU kept up the pressure entering the third quarter and increased the lead to 9-0 before allowing six goals in the second half. The Hoosiers held on to win 10-6 behind a spectacular offensive performance by freshman Mollie Williams, who recorded three goals and three assists in the contest.
In the second and final match Friday, the Hoosiers faced off against Saint Francis of Pennsylvania. The match included an offensive outburst by the Hoosiers, and their 19 goals in the game was the highest number of goals scored in a single game by IU since 2015.
Eleven Hoosiers got on the score sheet, and junior defender Kelly Matthews led the way with five goals and two assists.
Freshman driver Emily Powell, junior attacker Sarah Myers and senior center Brownyn Smith each recorded three assists and played a role in the balanced offensive attack.
IU Coach Ryan Castle said Williams and Matthews were outstanding and made their teammates better as well.
“They were getting it done,” Castle said. “They were a little looser, and Kelly organized everyone offensively and defensively. When those two are on fire, we can do anything.”
In the first game of day two against Harvard IU once again showed off its offensive prowess while also playing well defensively. The Hoosiers never trailed and managed to keep the game comfortably in their favor.
Junior goalkeeper Jessica Gaudreault recorded 10 saves, the most in a single game during the weekend, against the Crimson.
Williams and Matthews were once again huge on both ends of the pool, and freshman Joelle Nacouzi helped out with three assists of her own. The Hoosiers came out on top 7-3, and their four-goal second quarter was enough to keep the lead the entire game.
Castle said he liked how other players stepped up against Harvard particularly given the struggles of junior utility Sarah Young.
“Our counterattack was working really well,” he said. “Our center play was really good even when Sarah Young was struggling a little. She drew a lot of pressure on her that freed up other people to score.”
In the last game of the weekend, and of the regular season, IU battled one last top 20 opponent in Hartwick, a school in Oneonta, New York. In the back-and-forth affair, Williams and Matthews got into foul trouble in the third quarter, and Hartwick managed to take advantage of its opportunity. Hartwick poured in four goals in the third. Hartwick came out victorious, 8-6.
“We had one bad quarter when we had Mollie and Kelly out in foul trouble,” Castle said. “In the third quarter we panicked, and then the deficit was too big in the fourth for us to come back.”
Castle said he was impressed with junior attacker Jennifer Beadle’s performance this weekend and said she’s improved a lot as the season progressed.
“She’s an unsung hero,” Castle said. “She tries hard on defense and I’ve been impressed with her all season. She didn’t start at first, but once we got her in the rotation, she really took off.”
The Hoosiers finished the season 18-9 and 5-3 in conference play. IU will be the four seed in the CWPA tournament in Bloomington on April 28 and will play Harvard once again.
