SANTA BARBARA, Calif. — The No. 15-ranked Hoosiers of Indiana University faced a similar run of results in the second day of the University of California-Santa Barbara (UCSB) Winter Invitational. Indiana utilized a fierce fourth quarter to break away from No. 23 California State University, Northridge, 6-4. Later in the day the Hoosiers met No. 3 University of California-Los Angeles (UCLA), but the Bruins took a 20-5 victory.
Like Friday’s season-opening slate, the scoring duo of Sarah Young and Mollie Williams led the attack effort with three goals each. They both scored once against the Matadors, part of a combined effort with six Hoosiers entering the ledger. Williams and Young returned with two goals apiece in the game against UCLA.
Young leads the weekend total with nine goals in Indiana’s first four games. Williams, playing in her first competitive weekend at the collegiate level, ranks second with seven scores.
Williams notched the first goal of the game just 62 seconds into regulation, and Sarah Myers’ follow-up strike pushed IU to a 2-0 lead against Cal State Northridge. The Matadors tied the game with scores at the end of the first quarter and the middle of the second, but Young ensured a halftime lead with a power play score before the break.
The Matadors clawed back to tie the game at 3-3, scoring the only goal of the third quarter on a power play. They took their first lead over Indiana midway through the fourth quarter, putting the Hoosiers in a bind with time slipping away.
Indiana closed in resounding, scoring three unanswered to put the game out of reach. Jennifer Beadle tied the contest a minute after CSU Northridge took the lead. Joelle Nacouzi regained the lead on IU’s next possession, and Megan Abarta widened the gap in the final 90 seconds.
The win gives Indiana their second top-25 win of the weekend, after taking down No. 25 California State University, Bakersfield in the season opener on Friday afternoon.
The Hoosiers closed the evening with their highest-ranked opponent of the weekend, a game with No. 3 UCLA. The Hoosiers kept it close in the first period, but the Bruins pulled away with a strong second quarter for a 20-5 victory.
UCLA opened the game with a trio of unanswered scores, the first of which came on a power play. Young put the Hoosiers within two goals before the quarter intermission, netting her eighth goal of the weekend. The Hoosiers found their second goal of the half from Williams, who slotted a score midway through the second quarter.
In the third quarter, Nacouzi capitalized on a close range opportunity with a five-meter penalty score, and Williams found her second goal with 14 seconds on the clock. Young scored the Hoosiers’ only fourth quarter goal, which broke a 3-0 run by the Bruins.
Release courtesy Indiana University Athletics Communications
