Michigan
Colorado State
U-M Defeats Rams, Falls to Hoosiers in Season Debut
1/29/2005 12:00:00 AM | Water Polo
Site: Ann Arbor, Mich. (Canham Natatorium)
Event: Michigan Invitational
Scores: #9 Michigan 15, Colorado State 5; #11 Indiana 7, #9 Michigan 6
Records: U-M (1-1), Indiana (1-1)
Next U-M Event: Sunday, Jan. 30 -- vs. UCLA (9:45 a.m.), vs. Slippery Rock (11:15 a.m.) in Michigan Invitational (Canham Natatorium)
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The ninth-ranked University of Michigan women's water polo team split its first two games of the season today (Saturday, Jan. 29) in the opening day of the Michigan Invitational at Canham Natatorium. The Wolverines opened the season with a 15-5 victory over Colorado State but fell 7-6 to No. 11 Indiana later in the day.
Lauren Burel (Western Springs, Ill./Lyons Township HS) and Jamie Brown (San Diego, Calif./Bishop's HS) each notched hat tricks against Colorado State, and Sheetal Narsai (Commerce, Calif./Bell Gardens HS) led the Wolverines with two goals against the Hoosiers. In net, Sally Stone (San Diego, Calif./Bishop's HS) made 13 stops against the Rams, while Betsey Armstrong (Ann Arbor, Mich./Huron HS) saved 11 against Indiana.
Against Colorado State, the Wolverines jumped out to a 2-0 lead behind power-play goals from Rebecca Godek (Ann Arbor, Mich./Pioneer HS) and Brown to lead off the game. Colorado State, however, got on the board with just over one minute remaining in the opening period to cut U-M's lead to 2-1 after the first quarter.
Michigan opened the second quarter with a 4-1 run to take a four-goal lead with 1:51 remaining in the first half. Wesley Ellison (Portola Valley, Calif./Palo Alto HS) started the run with a lay-out from the hole set on U-M's first possession of the period, and Burel capped it with her first goal in the Maize and Blue. The Rams answered Michigan's run with the final two goals of the half to draw within two goals, 6-4, at the intermission.
The Wolverines stormed out of the gates in the second half, scoring three goals in the first 2:33 of the third quarter. Shana Welch (Larksville, Pa./Wyoming Valley West HS) notched back-to-back goals to start the run, and Erin Brown (San Diego, Calif./Bishop's HS) put away a rebound to give Michigan a 9-4 advantage.
Following a power-play goal by CSU at 4:09 that made the score 9-5, the Michigan defense clamped down and did not let in another score for the remainder of the game. The Wolverines went on another three-goal run to close out the third period and take a 12-5 lead into the fourth quarter and outscored the Rams 3-0 in the final period.
In the evening match, Indiana jumped out to a quick two-goal lead after two minutes of play. The Hoosiers scored on a tip-in goal on their first possession and then went up 2-0 on a sweep shot from the hole set by Kandace Waldthaler at 4:13.
On Michigan's next possession, the Wolverines drew an ejection foul and eventually drew within one, 2-1. On the power play Welch fired a shot from the left side of the IU net that was blocked by the defense and then took another shot off the rebound that was blocked by Indiana goalkeeper Jessica Goldner out of play. On the ensuing corner throw, Welch found Narsai with a cross-cage pass on the right side of the net. Narsai skipped the ball back across the goal for the score. After one period of play, Indiana held a 2-1 lead.
The first four minutes of the second quarter belonged to U-M as the Wolverines scored a pair of goals to take a 3-2 advantage. Megan Hausmann (San Diego, Calif./Bishop's HS) netted the first tally, scoring on a skip shot from right post with 6:20 to play in the half. Ellison then gave Michigan its only lead of the game with a power-play goal at 3:04 of the second quarter. Ellison lobbed a shot from the left of the net that fell just inside the right post. Indiana, however, was able to answer with a power-play goal and tie the game at 3-3 heading into halftime.
Despite drawing a pair of ejections early in the third quarter, Michigan was unable to capitalize and the game remained tied with two minutes to play in the period. Indiana finally broke the tie with a skip shot to the left side by Janis Pardy that made the score 4-3 with 1:58 to play in the third quarter. The Wolverines responded with a power-play goal from Welch to tie the score at 4-4 heading into the final period. Welch received a drop pass on the left side from Godek and skipped the shot under Goldner's arm for the goal.
Indiana opened the scoring in the fourth period with a tip-in goal by Waldthaler to take a 5-4 lead at 4:24. Michigan countered on its next possession with Narsai's second goal of the game to tie the score for the fourth time. Narsai fired a shot from six meters out to the left side of the net for the goal.
Following an Indiana timeout at 3:01, the two teams scored on three straight possessions, leaving the Hoosiers with a 7-6 lead. Indiana started the flurry with a backhand shot from the hole set to take a 6-5 lead, but Erin Brown quickly tied the score with a shot from five meters out to the left side of the net. On the ensuing possession, Indiana scored the game-winning goal with a shot by Emily Schmitt to the right side of the Michigan cage at 1:35.
With time winding down, the Wolverines drew a pair of ejections on Indiana but were unable to score the equalizer to send the game into overtime. U-M's best scoring oppoortunity came with 46 seconds left in the game when the Wolverines found Hausmann in front of the Indiana net. Hausmann's shot, however, was saved by Goldner, and the Hoosiers were able to run out the clock.
Michigan (1-1) returns to the pool tomorrow (Sunday, Jan. 30) to wrap up the Michigan Invitational. The Wolverines open the day with a match against No. 1 UCLA at 9:45 a.m. and then face Slippery Rock at 11:15 a.m. Both matches will take place at Canham Natatorium.
GAME SUMMARIES
| Game 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | F |
| Colorado State | 1 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 5 |
| Michigan | 2 | 4 | 6 | 3 | 15 |
Scoring
Colorado State Goals: Marissa Fernandez 2, Laurien White, Emily McCullough, Lisa Pretz. Michigan Goals: Lauren Burel 3, Jamie Brown 3, Wesley Ellison 2, Shana Welch 2, Erin Brown, Carly Strub, Vickie Brown, Megan Hausmann, Rebecca Godek. Ejections: CSU 6, U-M 9.
| Game 2 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | F |
| Indiana | 2 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 7 |
| Michigan | 1 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 6 |
Scoring
IU Goals: Kandace Waldthaler 3, Krista Peterson, Emily Schmitt, Carolyn Conway, Janis Pardy. U-M Goals: Sheetal Narsai 2, Wesley Ellison, Erin Brown, Megan Hausmann, Shana Welch. Ejections: IU 11, U-M 6.
Contact: Paul Dickerson (734) 763-4423
