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No. 15 Indiana Cruises Past Mercyhurst 11-1 to Advance to Western Division Title Game
ANN ARBOR, Mich. - Jakie Köhli scored two goals in the opening four minutes to capture the Indiana single-season scoring record as the No. 2 seed Indiana University Hoosiers (19-9) cruised to an 11-1 semifinal victory over No. 3 seed Mercyhurst College at the Collegiate Water Polo Association (CWPA) Western Division Championship on Saturday in Ann Arbor, Mich.
The victory gives the Hoosiers a 13-6 overall record in Western Division Championship play since the division was established in 2004. The win also secures the Hoosiers an automatic bid to the CWPA Eastern Championship (April 30-May 2) in College Park, Md.
Kate Dunn notched her second consecutive hat trick, tying a career-high that she set last week at Arizona State. Along with Köhli, Kelsey Campbell and Lauren Wyckoff each tallied two goals for the Hoosiers. Kara Butler and Nicole Redder added one goal apiece in the win.
Katie Carson was the backbone of the Indiana defense, playing a complete 32 minutes and collecting nine saves on 16 Mercyhurst shot attempts.
The Hoosiers set the tone early in the contest as Köhli nailed a pair of long range goals to grab the record. Köhli surpassed Brooke Zimmerman's 77 goals set in 2008. Dunn followed it up by earning an ejection at the 3:00 mark of the first period, then quickly dishing off to an open Wyckoff, who gave Indiana a 3-0 lead.
The Lakers got on the board with 2:38 to play in the opening stanza, scoring on a power play of their own. Indiana responded a minute later as Hanna Eimstad found an open Campbell for a tap-in goal to make it a 4-1 lead heading into the second period.
Steady Indiana defense was the theme for the remainder of the contest as the Hoosiers did not allow a goal in the final three quarters and racked up a season-high 22 steals, including a career-high eight from Campbell.
The junior tandem of Dunn and Wyckoff connected for the second time in the contest as Wyckoff kicked off the second quarter scoring with a crafty backhand from the post after the entry pass by Dunn with 2:59 to play in the second quarter. Dunn then notched two goals in a span of 32 seconds to give the Hoosiers a commanding 7-1 lead at the half.
The Hoosiers added to their lead late in the third when Campbell retrieved a loose ball and fired it into the net as the shot clock expired. Redder and Butler added two more goals during the period as Indiana went into the fourth with a 10-1 advantage.
The only fourth quarter goal was converted by Dunn, who found the net after a cross from Dana Mayeron with 6:13 remaining.
Indiana will move on to the Western Division Championship game against No. 1 seed University of Michigan at 5:00 p.m. ET on Saturday afternoon.
Release courtesy Indiana Athletic Communications
