LORETTO, Pa. — No. 13-ranked Indiana University’s water polo senior class reached new heights in a pair of non-conference wins on the first day of the Red Flash Tournament hosted by Saint Francis University. The Hoosiers found a game-winning goal from Jennifer Beadle to push past No. 22 Harvard University, 11-10, before beating Bucknell University, 11-8, thanks to the efforts of Karrie Kozokar, who scored four goals in a 5-0 run through the second quarter.
On a day full of milestone moments, senior Kelly Matthews added to a career that hasn’t stopped giving. Her six assists in two games pushed her career tally to 134 (5th – IU history). Along with her 233 career goals (4th – IU history), Matthews joins Shae Fournier (2011-14) as the only Hoosiers in the all-time top five of Indiana’s goals and assists leaderboards.
Fellow senior Jessica Gaudreault posted back-to-back games with 13 saves, matching her season high and marking 11 games this year with double figure blocks. Gaudreault’s 911 career saves are now the second-most in program history after passing Jessica Goldner (891, 2002-05) in the win over Harvard.
Trailing by one goal at the start of the second quarter against Harvard, Indiana sensed the need to regain control before halftime and responded with a 4-0 scoring run. Beadle and Sarah Young opened their team-leading totals in the run, scoring two apiece to give the Hoosiers a 5-2 lead at the break. Both Beadle and Young ended the game with four scores each.
The Crimson pulled back during the third but IU kept the pace to hold a two-goal lead. Beadle completed her seventh hat trick of the season, followed by a power play goal by Jessica Rodriguez. Kozokar grabbed a goal on a fast break following the IU power play, her first of six scores on the day.
Young extinguished a 4-0 Harvard run between the third and fourth periods, completing her quad with back-to-back goals. Beadle provided her fourth score and the eventual game-winner with 1:42 left in the game, one minute after an IU timeout.
The offensive triumphs would’ve gone in vain were it not for a handful of clutch efforts on the defensive end. Gaudreault’s 13 saves matched her season high, and Juli Hilovsky set a new single-game career high with three steals. The four steals by Sarah Myers helped push her career total to 180 (9th – IU history) by the end of the day.
Five field players earned multiple steals in addition to another baker’s dozen blocks from Gaudreault, resulting in a strong first half performance on both ends of the pool versus Bucknell. Beadle and Young continued their dominant form on the attack, combining for four goals and four assists including the two scores in the first quarter. Through Indiana’s last 10 games, Beadle and Young are responsible for a combined 52 points (38 goals, 14 assists).
Rodriguez drilled her second goal of the day to start the second quarter, and after that Indiana gave Kozokar the green light. The redshirt junior got a hat trick in that quarter alone, interrupted by a score from Riley Beemer, to earn the majority of a 5-0 run that ended the half. Kozokar completed a hat trick, the seventh of her career, with three seconds left on the first half clock.
The Bison pulled within a couple possessions after opening the second half on a 3-0 run, but Young pushed away with back-to-back goals that completed her team-leading eighth hat trick of the year. Young has scored at least three goals in three of her last four appearances.
Kozokar preserved Indiana’s lead in the fourth quarter, rising her game total to a career-high five goals. She has found at least one goal in seven of the last nine games.
Release courtesy Indiana University Athletics Communications
