Michigan
Loyola Marymount
Michigan Starts Spring Trip with Loss at Loyola Marymount
2/21/2003 12:00:00 AM | Water Polo
LOS ANGELES, Calif. -- The No. 11 University of Michigan water polo team opened its spring break trip with a 7-5 loss at No. 6 Loyola Marymount on Friday (Feb. 21) at the Burns Recreation and Aquatics Center. Sheetal Narsai (Commerce, Calif./Bell Gardens HS) had two penalty-shot goals for the Wolverines, who are now 3-5 on the season. Michigan cut a three-goal deficit in the fourth quarter to a single score but could not tally the equalizer. Betsey Armstrong (Ann Arbor, Mich./Huron HS) made nine saves in goal for U-M.
Casey Kerney (Severna Park, Md./Severna Park HS) opened the scoring in the game just 1:26 in by scoring on a breakaway chance. However, the Lions responded with two goals to hold a 2-1 lead after one quarter of play. Narsai tied the game at 2-2 with 4:28 left in the half but LMU answered 16 seconds later. Narsai again knotted the game up to finish a flurry of three total goals in 25 seconds. Loyola Marymount earned the edge prior to intermission by notching a marker with 0:47 left.
Midway through the third quarter the Lions increased their lead to two goals, 5-3. The Wolverine offense was unable to find its mark throughout the period as U-M was held scoreless, and LMU added another goal with only three seconds remaining in the third quarter to take a 6-3 advantage into the final period.
Michigan scored quickly in the fourth quarter as Julie Nisbet (Santa Barbara, Calif./Santa Barbara HS) cashed in on a six-on-five opportunity with five minutes remaining in the game to make the score 6-4. Stephanie Rupp (Hemet, Calif./Hemet HS) brought the Wolverines within one with 3:45 left in the game. U-M could not solve the LMU defense to tie the game as it then turned the ball over on four consecutive possessions. The Lions scored their last goal on a power play in the final seconds of the game.
Michigan will travel to Irvine, Calif. on Saturday (Feb. 22) to play a doubleheader against Cal State-San Bernadino at 4:15 p.m. PST and then UC Irvine at 6:30 p.m. PST. Both games will be played at the Anteater Aquatics Center.
GAME SUMMARY
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | F |
| Michigan | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 5 |
| Loyola Marymount | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 7 |
Michigan Goals: Sheetal Narsai 2, Casey Kerney, Julie Nisbet, Stephanie Rupp. LMU Goals: Katie Hicks 3, Devon Wright 2, Teresa Guidi, Jamie Kroeze. Ejections: Michigan 7, LMU 5.
N O T E S
Casey Kerney has scored in all eight games this season and leads the team with 13 goals.
Q U O T E S
Head Coach Matt Anderson
On playing Loyola Marymount ... "They are a very talented team. They have a good goalkeeper and a good defense. They're ranked No. 6 nationally for a reason. While I'm happy that we were in the game, the expectation is that we should beat those kinds of teams and that's our goal."
On playing without Megan Hausmann ... "We had a hard time getting the ball into two meters in the first half. We were more successful in the second half and things started to work for us offensively, especially in the fourth quarter. I'm extremely happy to lose by essentially one goal to the No. 6 team after having to redo our offense and defense from the beginning of the year. As soon as the girls become comfortable we should start clicking again. It really bodes well for the remainder of this trip and the season."
Contact: Paul Dickerson, Matt Trevor (734) 763-4423
