Indiana water polo lost its senior night match at Counsilman-Billingsley Aquatic Center on Friday, with the 10th ranked Hoosiers falling to No. 5 Arizona State University 15-13.
To start the match, Arizona State senior center Sophie Shorter-Robinson started the scoring for the Sun Devils, giving them a 1-0 lead. Following that, freshman attacker Dominika Kardos found the back of the net to extend a two-goal lead.
Indiana freshman center Kylie Williams got the Hoosiers on the board, scoring a goal with just over three minutes to play in the first quarter. Junior attacker Olivia Harris scored a goal for the Hoosiers, and Kardos and freshman attacker Jelena Butic scored two more goals for Arizona State. By the time the first quarter clock hit zero, Arizona State held a 4-2 lead.
Late in the second quarter, Indiana senior attacker Louisa Downes scored a breakaway goal to knot the match up at 5-5. Arizona State also added a late goal courtesy of freshman attacker Laura Kardos, giving the Sun Devils a one-goal lead going into the half.
To start the second half, Indiana junior attacker Gwyneth Le notched a goal to tie it up at six. Arizona State racked up four goals in the third quarter, coming from Kardos, Butic and Shorter-Robinson. Indiana responded with three goals of its own. Le scored a goal, senior attacker Grace Klinger scored on a penalty and Downes scored from the weak side. Going into the fourth quarter, Arizona State led 10-9.
Arizona State came out hot to start the fourth quarter, scoring two goals. Graduate student center Nioka Thomas and freshman attacker Maci Magee each came through for the Sun Devils, putting their team ahead 12-11. But Indiana quickly fired back, with sophomore attacker Morgan Schink scoring from the top of the key to tie the game at 12 with 4:50 to play.
The Sun Devils went on a 3-1 run to close the match, propelling them to a 15-13 win over the Hoosiers. Arizona State freshman utility Miya Tirosh scored two late goals in the win. Indiana’s Williams and Downes both had hat tricks in the match, with Downes extending its team-high total goals to 50 on 48% shooting. Williams is now shooting 65% on the year, making 39 out of 60 shots. On the defensive side, Indiana senior goalkeeper Jasmine Higgs had a season-high 15 saves in the match.
Going into the last regular season match of their careers, Indiana seniors Downes, Klinger, utility Nicole Tyner and attacker Savannah Batchelor have combined for 117 goals on the season. Higgs has racked up 190 blocks/saves on the season.
With the loss, Indiana fell to 15-8 on the year, losing its last three matches. The Hoosiers’ next match is against No. 12 Michigan at 1 p.m. Saturday at the Donald B. Canham Natatorium in Ann Arbor, Michigan.
