Michigan
UC San Diego
Wolverines Lose Defensive Struggle at No. 8 UC San Diego
2/7/2003 12:00:00 AM | Water Polo
SAN DIEGO, Calif. -- The University of Michigan women's water polo team fell 3-2 to UC San Diego today (Friday, Feb. 7) at Canyonview Pool. The No. 10 Wolverines (2-2) held UC San Diego (3-0) scoreless in the first half, but Miranda Paulson's second-half hat trick proved to be the difference for the No. 8 Tritons. Julie Nisbet (Santa Barbara, Calif./Santa Barbara HS) and Casey Kerney (Severna Park, Md./Severna Park HS) each scored for U-M, and goalkeeper Betsey Armstrong (Ann Arbor, Mich./Huron HS) tied a season high with 14 saves.
Michigan started the game with a six-on-five opportunity in its first possession but was unable to get off a shot. The Michigan defense was equally as stingy throughout the period, causing a 35-second shot clock violation with just under four minutes to go. The Wolverines got their best opportunity of the first quarter with 2:43 left when Armstrong found Nisbet all alone on the counterattack. Nisbet moved in for the score but her shot at two meters sailed high. The teams played even for the rest of the period and the game remained scoreless headed into the second stanza.
U-M's defense continued to hold the Tritons scoreless throughout the second quarter. UC San Diego was forced into its second 35-second violation of the game in its first possession of the period. Michigan was finally able to get on the board when Kerney found Nisbet on the counter with 5:18 left in the half and Nisbet slipped the ball past the left post to give the Wolverines a 1-0 advantage. Three minutes later, Michigan was awarded a power play but could not cash in as Megan Hausmann's (San Diego, Calif./Bishop's HS) backhand shot was blocked. In the final minute of the half, the Tritons were awarded their first power play of the game and their best scoring opportunity. Armstrong came up big again for Michigan and saved the point-blank shot to preserve the Wolverines' 1-0 advantage at the half.
The third period opened with a penalty against the Wolverines. Armstrong again made the save, but Michigan turned the ball over in its own zone and Paulson capitalized, tying the score 1-1. Michigan responded by drawing a penalty of its own but turned the ball over on the ensuing possession. With 3:48 left in the third quarter, UC San Diego was awarded another six-on-five opportunity but Armstrong made two blocks on the power play to keep the game knotted at one. The Tritons were able to take the lead in the final seconds of the period when Paulson connected from seven meters out for her second goal of the game, and UCSD held a 2-1 edge heading into the final period.
The two teams played even for much of the fourth quarter, but UC San Diego was finally able gain an advantage with Paulson's third goal of the game with 3:08 to go. Michigan answered 30 seconds later with Kerney's power-play goal that closed the gap to 3-2. Michigan's defense tightened up, not allowing a scoring opportunity in final two minutes of the game. The Wolverines had possession with 40 seconds left in the game but an offensive foul gave the ball back to the Tritons. Brown regained possession for Michigan but her outside shot in the waning seconds went wide.
The Wolverines will play in UCSD's Arena Invitational on Saturday and Sunday (Feb. 8-9), starting with a game against No. 16 UC Davis at noon PST Saturday. U-M will face either No. 4 Long Beach State or Arizona State at 6 or 7 p.m. Saturday depending on the outcome of the first-round games.
GAME SUMMARY
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | F |
| Michigan | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| UC San Diego | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 3 |
Michigan Goals: Julie Nisbet, Casey Kerney. UCSD Goals: Miranda Paulson 3. Ejections: Michigan 5, UCSD 5.
Q U O T E S
U-M Head Coach Matt Anderson
On the game ... "I am disappointed but extremely happy about giving up only three goals to the No. 8 over 28 minutes. They were given three opportunities that they should not have been given and unfortunately they went in. It is not going to happen every game when we are playing tough defense like that. Those opportunities were very correctable. We pushed the pace offensively, but we were not able to finish what we started. It was not a case of someone on their team beating us. It was a case of us being a little unlucky. As soon as our offense gets hammered down we are going to be a very strong team."
On the defense ... "We play with a lot of confidence defensively. Had they not been given those opportunities, I am not sure they would have had a chance to score the whole game. We are a very strong defensive team and that is going to be our bread and butter. As the same point we cannot push defense only too much, because we need to get our offense going. We are going through the growing pains and in a matter of weeks or games we are going to hopefully be hitting on all cylinders."
On the difference in the game ... "I think the difference was there were a couple of opportunities they were given that we were not expecting. Unfortunately the ball bounced their way and they were able to get the ball in the back of the goal. The turning point was the fact that we were really working hard on defense and they got a few scores that should not have happened."
Contact: Paul Dickerson, Matt Trevor (734) 763-4423
