Michigan
Slippery Rock
Wolverines Top Indiana Behind Armstrong's 24 Saves
3/6/2004 12:00:00 AM | Water Polo
Site: Bloomington, Ind. (Counsilman-Billingsley Aquatics Center)
Event: CWPA Divisional Weekend
Scores: #8 Michigan 17, Slippery Rock 8; #8 Michigan 13, Grove City 2;
#8 Michigan 4, #10 Indiana 1
Records: U-M (15-7, 3-0 CWPA)
Next U-M Event: Sat-Sun., March 20-21 -- at Pomona Invitational (Pomona, Calif.)
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- The eighth-ranked University of Michigan women's water polo team swept the first weekend of division play today (Saturday, March 6), notching three wins at Indiana's Counsilman-Billingsley Aquatics Center. U-M tallied victories over Slippery Rock, 17-8, and Grove City, 13-3, as sophomore Amy Burgin (Livermore, Calif./San Ramon Valley HS) scored hat tricks in each of the first two games. In the marquee matchup of the weekend, Michigan earned a 4-1 victory over No. 10 Indiana behind goalkeeper Betsey Armstrong's (Ann Arbor, Mich./Huron HS) school-record 24 saves.
| | Armstrong made 24 saves as Michigan limited Indiana to a single goal in a 4-1 victory. |
The second quarter started just at the first, with a three-goal run by the Wolverines. This time, Melissa Goldberg (Annapolis, Md./Annapolis HS), Stephanie Rupp (Hemet, Calif./Hemet HS) and Wesley Ellison (Portola Valley, Calif./Palo Alto HS) did the honors for U-M. Slippery Rock cut the lead to 7-2, but Michigan scored two more goals to open up a 9-2 lead. The Rock tallied the final goal of the period to make the score 9-3 at the half.
The Wolverines continued to dominate play in the third quarter, outscoring Slippery Rock 5-3 in the period. Each team tallied one goal to make the score 10-4 before the Wolverines went on another three-goal run capped by a seven-meter shot from Ashley McCullum (Poway, Calif./Poway HS). Slippery Rock then scored back-to-back goals to cut the lead to 13-6 with 22 seconds left in the quarter. However, with one second left Peyrebrune scored her third goal of the game to give Michigan a 14-6 cushion heading into the final period.
The fourth quarter turned into a defensive struggle as neither team was able to get on the board through the first five minutes of the period. Jamie Brown (San Diego, Calif./Bishop's HS) made the score 15-6 at the 1:40 mark and then Hitchcock boosted U-M's lead to 16-7 with 33 seconds on the clock. Slippery Rock answered with seven seconds to play and then both team added one more score in the final second for the 17-8 final.
In the second match of the day, Michigan got off to another quick start, scoring the first six goals of the game against Grove City. Burgin got things going for the Wolverines, scoring on a backhanded shot from the two-meter position at the 4:02 mark of the first quarter. In the second quarter, U-M continued to spread the ball around, receiving goals from five different players. Elise Spadavecchio (River Forest, Ill./Oak Park-River Forest HS) made the score 2-0 with a shot from four meters out and then Jamie Brown increased Michigan's lead to three on a fast-break goal with 5:29 to play in the half. The Wolverines closed out the half with goals from Peyrebrune, Burgin and Rupp to take a 6-0 lead into the locker room.
The third quarter saw the two teams play to a 2-2 stalemate. Grove City scored first, making the score 6-1, but Jineane Shibuya (Honolulu, Hawaii/Mid-Pacific Institute) reestablished the Wolverines' six-goal lead with 4:37 to play in the period. Hitchcock put U-M up 8-1 with a marker at the 3:50 mark but Grove City answered with 1:20 on the clock to make the count 8-2 heading into the final period.
Michigan started the fourth quarter with a pair of goals from Burgin and Jamie Brown that made the score 10-2. Grove City scored with 3:44 left in the game to close the gap to 10-3, but Michigan answered just 25 second later with Spadavecchio's second marker of the game. Peyrebrune put U-M up 12-3 with 1:51 to play and then Shibuya scored a one-on-none goal with nine seconds left to close out the 13-3 win.
Against the Hoosiers, Indiana created the first scoring opportunity on its opening possession of the game. After Armstrong blocked the Hoosiers attempt, Indiana picked up the rebound and fired again. Armstrong, however, was up to the challenge and blocked the putback attempt, keeping the game scoreless.
Michigan opened the scoring with a goal from Shana Welch (Larksville, Pa./Wyoming Valley West HS) at the 2:38 mark of the first quarter. Welch received a pass out of the post from Julie Nisbet (Santa Barbara, Calif./Santa Barbara HS) and sent the shot cross net with the clock winding down. The Hoosiers knotted the game at one goal apiece just 93 seconds later with a fast-break goal from Krista Peterson. At the end of the first period the score was 1-1.
The Wolverines had multiple opportunities to take control of the game in the second period but were unable to capitalize on three power-play opportunities. With one minute remaining in the half, Indiana nearly took the lead on a shot that was tipped by Armstrong and floated along the goal line momentarily. Armstrong recovered in time to gain possession of the ball and preserve the 1-1 tie heading into the half.
The defensive struggle continued into the third period with neither team able to gain an advantage in the early going. IU created the first opportunity of the period with a six-on-five advantage but was not able to convert on the attempt. The tie was finally broken with 2:29 to play in the third quarter when Sheetal Narsai (Commerce, Calif./Bell Gardens HS) drew a four-meter penalty on the Hoosiers. Narsai converted on the attempt to give the Wolverines a 2-1 lead. Indiana drew one more power-play chance in the quarter but again the Michigan defense was up to the challenge and U-M took a 2-1 lead into the final period.
Michigan opened up a 3-1 lead on its first possession of the fourth quarter with a goal from Erin Brown (San Diego, Calif./Bishop's HS). Brown fired a shot from eight meters out that found the upper left corner of the Hoosier net. Then with 4:58 to go in the game, Megan Hausmann (San Diego, Calif./Bishop's HS) scored on a lay-out lob to give the Wolverines a commanding 4-1 advantage which U-M enjoyed for the remainder of the game.
The Wolverines (15-7, 3-0 CWPA) will have two weeks off before traveling to California to participate in the Pomona Invitational on March 20-21.
GAME SUMMARIES
| Game 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | F |
| Slippery Rock | 1 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 8 |
| Michigan | 4 | 5 | 5 | 3 | 17 |
Scoring
Slippery Rock Goals: Shannon Holt 3, Amanda Zychowski 2, Kim Adams, Bridgette Rhodes. Michigan Goals: Amy Burgin 4, Clare Peyrebrune 3, Jamie Brown 2, Wesley Ellison, Lindsay Hitchcock, Melissa Goldberg, Sheetal Narsai, Megan Hausmann, Elise Spadavecchio, Stephanie Rupp, Ashley McCullum. Ejections: Slippery Rock 9, Michigan 2.
| Game 2 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | F |
| Grove City | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 3 |
| Michigan | 1 | 5 | 2 | 5 | 13 |
Scoring
Grove City Goals: Katie Flaherty 2, Jessica Zedaker. Michigan Goals: Amy Burgin 3, Elise Spadavecchio 2, Clare Peyrebrune 2, Jamie Brown 2, Jineane Shibuya 2, Lindsay Hitchcock, Stephanie Rupp. Ejections: Grove City 5, Michigan 1.
| Game 3 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | F |
| Michigan | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 4 |
| Indiana | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
Scoring
Michigan Goals: Shana Welch, Sheetal Narsai, Erin Brown, Megan Hausmann. Indiana Goals: Krista Peterson. Ejections: Michgian 3, Indiana 5.
Contact: Paul Dickerson (734) 763-4423
