BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — The No. 14-ranked Indiana University water polo team wrapped an undefeated weekend at the Counsilman-Billingsley Aquatic Center in the squad’s final game of the Hoosier Invitational . In a battle of Top-25 teams, the Hoosiers turned a high-flying first half into a 13-6 win over No. 25 California Baptist University. Junior Sarah Young led the attack with five goals, a new single-game career high.
“When she was at center and on two-meter defense, she was excellent,” head coach Ryan Castle said regarding Young’s performance. “She brings a lot of size and she doesn’t stop working. She has an attitude where she says, ‘bring it’, regardless of what is thrown at her. I told her I was disappointed in her perimeter play because she missed a few passes, and she owned it. That’s what makes her such a good athlete.”
A pair of freshmen stepped up alongside Young to net multiple goals. Joelle Nacouzi once again crammed the stat sheet with three goals and three assists. Mollie Williams played off of the bench and delivered two scores, plus an assist and one steal.
Jessica Gaudreault provided a clinical performance between the pipes in her first home varsity game since the 2014 season. The junior tallied nine saves and found two assists in transition. Elsewhere on defense, the Hoosiers got multiple steals from Nacouzi, Young and Jennifer Beadle.
The Hoosiers’ nearly flawless first quarter spaced the difference for the remainder of the game, and it started with Nacouzi. The Montreal native gave Indiana the first goal on a five-meter penalty shot and continued to be a part of the scoring effort for the duration of the quarter.
In a span of 90 seconds, Nacouzi took three possessions in transition to the back of the net. First, she dished to Williams cross-cage for a goal on the power play. After that, Nacouzi drove from center pool to point-blank range for her second score. On the following possession, Nacouzi again drove to the left wing and lobbed an assist to Young to cap a 5-0 run.
“At that point, everybody was on the same page and in a good flow,” Nacouzi said regarding the run that set up her stellar home debut. “As soon as we were clicking, everyone was able to do their job in transition to create opportunities.”
After building a 6-2 lead by halftime, California Baptist returned to take part in a hard-fought, high-scoring third quarter. The teams split eight goals down the middle, starting with Nacouzi’s third and a connection from Emily Powell to Sarah Myers. Young scored two more in the quarter, off of assists from Williams and Bronwyn Smith, to take a 10-6 lead into the final period.
The Hoosiers ended the contest with a fourth quarter shutout while putting in three on the other end. Young broke her career mark midway through the quarter, before the defending duo of Kelly Matthews and Karrie Kozokar entered the score ledger.
Indiana converted six-of-nine power play opportunities, marking a season high for both conversions and percentage. The Hoosiers also won all four sprints for the first time this season, with Myers taking three and Megan Abarta winning the second quarter sprint.
Release courtesy Indiana University Athletics Communications
