Hoosiers cap season play at UC-Davis Shootout

After securing its fifth straight 20-win season, the No. 16 IU water polo team has its sights set on reaching its second NCAA Final Four in its brief nine-year history.\nThe last time the Hoosiers reached the Final Four was in 2003, where they lost 13-2 against Stanford University in the semifinal match.\nThe Hoosiers capped regular season play after finishing 3-1 at the University of California-Davis Shootout to extend their record to 20-9. The lone loss came to No. 4 Loyola Marymount University.\nThe tournament opened with an 8-5 win for IU over California State University-San Bernardino. IU goalie Jackie Pyrz led the Hoosiers with nine saves and limited the Coyotes to five goals fewer than their season average of 9.8 goals per game.\nThe Hoosiers fell behind early 1-0 after San Bernardino scored within the first minute of the match. But IU rallied off six straight goals into the third period to seal the victory. The team finished at plus seven in the turnover margin, while juniors Brooke Zimmerman and Melissa Soria added hat tricks.\nThe hat tricks came in Zimmerman's fifth game in a row and Soria's third.\nIn the second match of the day, the Hoosiers defeated Colorado State University 10-1 and came within a minute of their first shutout of the season. After scoring 10 times through the first three periods, the Hoosiers allowed the lone goal with 1:07 left in the game.\nDefense led the way for IU throughout the match, as Colorado State turned the ball over 17 times. Zimmerman and senior Janis Pardy accounted for half of the Hoosiers' steals while setting career highs with six and four steals respectively.\nThe win over Colorado State gave the Hoosiers a six-game win streak going into the match against Loyola Marymount. That ended as IU dropped only the third of its last 21 games. \nLoyola Marymount struck first with 5:27 to go in the first period and never looked back, winning 10-3.\nThe Hoosiers never led during the game.\nIU bounced back from the loss with a 13-9 win over Sonoma State University to give the Hoosiers their 20th win of the season.\nIn the second match of the day, the Hoosiers reversed roles and never trailed throughout the match after senior Clare Meadows scored first for IU.\nThe Hoosiers have a week off before they play in the Collegiate Water Polo Association Western Division Championship April 22 and 23 in Bloomington. IU is the top seed in the tournament and its opponents have yet to be determined.