IU Water Polo Opens Bruno Classic With Two Wins

PROVIDENCE, R.I. – The Hoosiers wrapped up the first day of the Bruno Classic with two decisive victories. They began the day with a win over No. 16 Wagner, followed by a dominating 15-7 victory over conference foe Brown.

No. 13 Indiana at the Bruno Classic • February 6, 2016

Game 1 (12:30 p.m. ET): Indiana 11, Wagner 8
Indiana started the invitational on the right path with a win over another top-20 opponent, the Wagner Seahawks. It was a hard-fought contest, but the Hoosiers’ 3-0 scoring run midway through the third quarter lifted Indiana to victory.

Kelly Matthews returned to her high-scoring form from last season, tying her career high of five goals. Kate Pipkin was Indiana’s other multi-goal scorer with two in the third quarter. Other Hoosiers on the board include Karrie KozokarSarah YoungKaybree Albright, and Candyce Schroeder.

The Hoosiers and Seahawks split the scoring in the first half. Wagner took the lead in the first minute of action, but IU quickly recovered with a five-meter goal from Matthews and a score by Kozokar. Wagner tied the game with 18 seconds remaining in the first quarter.

Both defenses put on a clinic in the second quarter, holding the offenses scoreless until the halftime break.

Indiana pulled away in the third quarter. Matthews delivered another five-meter penalty shot into the back of the net, and Pipkin followed with her first goal of the game. Wagner countered on a power play to cut Indiana’s lead to 4-3.

Less than a minute later, IU began their run that ultimately put the game out of reach. Three goals in three minutes from Matthews, Young, and Pipkin put the Hoosiers ahead 7-3. Wagner answered with two consecutive scores, but a goal at the buzzer by Matthews made it 8-5 in Indiana’s favor heading into the final quarter.

The Hoosiers and Seahawks traded scores in the final minutes, starting with a goal from Wagner. The Hoosiers responded with a goal from Albright and Matthews’ fifth score of the game. Schroeder netted Indiana’s final goal in between a pair of scores by Wagner, giving the Hoosiers an 11-8 win.

Game 2 (6:20 p.m. ET): Indiana 15, Brown 7
Later in the day, the Hoosiers got an early look at Brown, a team they’ll face in the final stretch of CWPA play. Indiana rolled their momentum from their first win into this contest and picked up their second win of the day.

The Indiana attack amassed a pair of scoring runs that put the game out of reach for Brown. Their first, a 6-0 run over an eight-minute span, lifted the Hoosiers to a 9-3 lead at halftime. They closed the game with a 6-1 scoring run that started with 5:17 remaining in the third quarter.

Once again, Kelly Matthews led the Hoosiers on offense with five goals, matching a career high for the fourth time. Fellow Canadian junior international Sarah Myers followed with her first hat trick of the season. Karrie Kozokar and Candyce Schroeder tallied two goals each, while Kaybree AlbrightJennifer Beadle, and Bronwyn Smith netted one goal apiece.

Indiana began the game with a nine-to-one goal advantage through the first 11 minutes of the contest. Brown came back with two scores in the final 90 seconds of the half to cut IU’s lead to 9-3 at the break.

Brown took advantage of three consecutive power play opportunities, making it 9-6 midway through the third quarter. Just as it looked like Brown would threaten Indiana’s lead, the Hoosiers pulled away with a 6-1 run to the final whistle.

Hoosier Notes:

• Kelly Matthews twice tied her career high for singe-game goals with five against Wagner and Brown. It’s the second time in her career that the sophomore scored five times in back-to-back games: at Michigan (4/4/2015) and at Princeton (4/10/2015).

• Indiana won five-of-eight sprints over the two games. Sophomore Sarah Myers is now 11-of-14 on sprint wins this season.Karrie Kozokar notched a sprint win in her two attempts against Brown.

• The Hoosiers scored on 50% of their power play chances in the game, a team high for the early season. The successful power play scores came in the first score (Kelly Matthews) and the last score (Bronwyn Smith) of the game.

• Indiana has now scored 26 of their 39 goals in the second half. The Hoosiers have scored over half of their goals in the fourth period.

• Kelly Matthews is Indiana’s scoring leader with 13 goals over four games.

Up Next: No. 13 Indiana (2-2) vs. No. 21 Harvard (3-1)
Sunday, February 7, 2016 • 10:20 a.m. ET
No. 13 Indiana (2-2) vs. No. 20 Marist (2-4)
Sunday, February 7, 2016 • 1:50 p.m. ET

The Hoosiers will wrap up their weekend with two games against ranked competition on Sunday. Up first, the Hoosiers face No. 21 Harvard, a tough CWPA opponent that started the weekend with a five-goal loss to No. 4 Hawaii and a one-goal win over No. 20 Marist. After that, Indiana takes the pool against No. 20 Marist, who began their Saturday schedule with a 10-8 win over Bucknell.

Swimming news courtesy of Indiana Water Polo.

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About Lauren Neidigh

Lauren Neidigh

Lauren Neidigh is a former NCAA swimmer at the University of Arizona (2013-2015) and the University of Florida (2011-2013). While her college swimming career left a bit to be desired, her Snapchat chin selfies and hot takes on Twitter do not disappoint. She's also a high school graduate of The …

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