Hoosiers host first home game

The No. 15 women’s water polo team (10-11) will face No. 16 Hartwick (11-7) in its first home game this season.\nComing off of a three-game losing streak, a so-called “home field advantage” could be exactly what the Hoosiers need.\nIU coach Barry King said the best way to approach a game after a rough break is to focus on what the team did well in those losses and to talk about what the women can do better.\n“Our goal all along is to play our best by the end of the season,” he said. “Hard losses are steps along the way, but it is not the end.”\nAs the team faces the Hawks for the third time this season, the excitement among players could finally put the Hoosiers on top.\n“We’re familiar with the pool, everyone is a lot more comfortable,” said senior Brittany Estrada. “We are all really pumped.”\nOn the contrary, King said, for his team, a home field advantage does not really exist.\n“One would think we have advantages,” he said. “We play at home so rarely we’re actually better at traveling.”\nKing explained there are various positive aspects to traveling to play at other campuses. When a team plays at its own school there can be subtle distractions.\n“There are always fans, parents, and often times the players are more concerned with their family rather than the actual game,” he said.\nRegardless, sophomore Nicole Sands said the team has been doing a lot to prepare for the game.\n“We’ve been working on a hook-step finish and have continued to improve our man-up power play,” she said. “We also know we have to forget about our last few games and get back in it, so we’ve been conditioning and working on finishing.”\nSands also thinks the freshmen have been an extraordinary asset this season and have stepped up and really played their best.\n“The freshmen are starting to get it more and more,” agreed King. “We’re beyond the point of them competing and filling space – now they have to do something; they have to be threats.”\nAs for this Saturday, the freshmen will continue to play an important role.\n“This team is going to continue to play as good as the freshmen develop,” said King.