By Iber Moreno – Spear Reporter
Freshman goalkeeper Grace Smith making a save after an Indiana player attempts to score on the cage. I Photo by Andrew Hartley – The Spear
San Jose State women’s water polo (9-15 0-6 MPSF) lost a close game 10-9 to end its season against the sixth-seed Indiana (21-10, 1-5 MPSF) in the MPSF Championship tournament on April 27.
Ivanna Anderson-Villela had the opportunity to tie the game with less than 45 seconds remaining in the match but her shot was missed and the Spartans lost the game.
The Spartans kept it close the first three quarters with the game tied 7-7. SJSU struggled from the power play and only converted one of eight opportunities.
SJSU junior Lucy Miszewski scored two goals with one of them being the lone power-play goal. Miszewski, the team leader in steals this season, would add on two more Saturday to finish the season with 38.
No team ever held more than a two-goal lead requiring defensive prowess on both ends. SJSU junior goalkeeper Grace Smith had 10 saves in the game to keep the Spartans alive. In her first season with SJSU, Smith would finish with 172 saves and played 60 quarters in the cage.
Another newcomer to the team that continued to contribute was freshman Darcy Spark. Spark scored the first and final goals of the game for the Spartans while also contributing two steals. The freshman was named to the MPSF All-Newcomer team and finished the season top-10 in goals in the conference with 47.
The Hoosiers would end up with an exclusion drawn on Renee Fleming to get their 10th goal. Indiana’s Sophie Wazzan would score the dagger with a third assist of the game coming from Zoe Crouch.
San Jose State finishes the season with eight-consective losses against conference opponents. It has not defeated a conference opponent since the 2021 season.
The Spartans say goodbye to their seniors Ryann Lucchesi, Maiken Pardon, and Anderson-Villela.