Kelsey Campbell

SAN JOSE, Calif. -- The No. 16 Indiana University Hoosiers (13-6) women's water polo team was defeated 12-9 by No. 7 San Jose State on the afternoon of Wednesday, March 17 in San Jose, Calif. The Hoosiers controlled the majority of the game and led by two with 6:29 to play in the fourth, but the Spartans scored the final five goals of the contest to escape with the win.

"We competed hard from start to finish," said Indiana head coach Barry King. "Certain things didn't go our way late in the game, but there are some positives to take away from it."

Indiana was led in scoring with four goals by Jakie Köhli. Nicole Redder scored three, while Kara Butler and Kelly Palmberg each found the net once to round out the Hoosier scoring attack.

Cassie Wyckoff played a complete game in the cage, racking up 11 saves, two steals, two assists, and one earned kick-out.

The Hoosiers jumped out to an early lead when Köhli fired a shot into the upper left corner of the net after an assist by Kelsey Campbell. Indiana also set the tone early with a suffocating defense that shut out the Spartans during the opening period.

Köhli got the Hoosiers off to a strong start in the second period with a breakaway goal on a counter-attack after Wyckoff tossed the long assist to make it a 2-0 Indiana lead at the 6:15 mark. SJSU got on the board for the first time with 4:07 to play in the second quarter with a power play tap-in goal.

Indiana would respond quickly with another counter-attack goal from Köhli 39 seconds later. Redder then scored her first goal of the contest in the post after an entry pass by Hanna Eimstad to make it a 4-1 Indiana lead. SJSU then pulled within two after a goal was fired in four seconds later. Eimstad found Redder open again for the final Indiana goal of the half, with Redder converting a long-range lob that sailed past the Spartan goalkeeper. SJSU then tacked on another goal to end the half trailing the Hoosiers 5-3.

Indiana came out of the break on a mission, setting the tone with goals by Palmberg and Butler to extend the lead to four. The Spartans responded with a flurry of their own, reeling off three goals to close out the third quarter to make it 7-6 heading into the final eight minutes.

The Hoosiers kicked off the fourth quarter with a power play conversion by Köhli, who notched her eighth consecutive game with multiple goals. After SJSU answered with a goal of their own, Redder slammed in a post-up goal after an assist by Lauren Wyckoff to give the Hoosiers a 9-7 lead with 6:29 to play.

Momentum took a turn towards the Spartans for the remainder of the contest, as SJSU scored twice to knot things up at 9-9 with 4:58 remaining. The teams battled for next few minutes before the Spartans ended the game with three goals in the final two minutes.

???Release courtesy Indiana Athletic Communications