Michigan
Redlands
Wolverines Split Pair on First Day of Gaucho Invitational
2/25/2005 12:00:00 AM | Water Polo
Site: Santa Barbara, Calif. (Campus Pool)
Event: UC Santa Barbara Invite
Scores: #11 Michigan, Redlands 5; #4 Long Beach State 6, #11 Michigan 4
Records: U-M (7-5)
Next U-M Event: Saturday, Feb. 26 -- vs. California-Davis at Gaucho Invitational (Santa Barbara, Calif.), 12:40 p.m. PST
SANTA BARBARA, Calif. -- With a split in its first two games of the Gaucho Invitaional Friday (Feb. 25), the No. 11 University of Michigan women's water polo team advanced into the ninth-place bracket as the No. 5 seed. The Wolverines opened with an 11-5 victory over Redlands, but Michigan's comeback bid against No. 4 Long Beach State fell short as U-M lost 6-4. Against the 49ers, Michigan dug itself a 6-0 hole but stormed back in the fourth quarter to draw within two before the final horn.
Shana Welch (Larksville, Pa./Wyoming Valley West HS) led the Wolverines with five goals over the two games, including her third hat trick of the season against Redlands. Defensively, Betsey Armstrong (Ann Arbor, Mich./Huron HS) made 22 saves in net, stopping 11 shots in each match.
In the opening game of the tournament, Michigan came out of the gates strong to take a 2-0 lead with 5:35 to play in the first quarter. After Welch won the opening sprint, Wesley Ellison (Portola Valley, Calif./Palo Alto HS) drew a four-meter penalty resulting in a goal by Sheetal Narsai (Commerce, Calif./Bell Gardens HS). On U-M's next possession, Ellison received a pass from Welch in the hole set and spun off her defender for an open shot to the left side of the net.
Redlands drew within one, 2-1, at 4:32, but Michigan answered with a goal by Erin Brown (San Diego, Calif./Bishop's HS) just over two minutes later. Brown stole the ball at mid-pool and swam down on the counterattack. After missing the first attempt off the crossbar, Brown collected the rebound and executed a give-and-go with Narsai for the score. Redlands, however, notched one more tally in the final 10 seconds of the first quarter to make the score 3-2 after one period of play.
After Welch gave Michigan a two-goal lead (4-2) on the opening possession of the second quarter, the Bulldogs tallied a pair of quick goals to tie the game at four with 3:42 to play before the half. The Wolverines responded with a three-goal flurry to take a 7-4 lead into the locker room. Ellison started the run with another goal out of two-meters followed by a high skip shot by Narsai from the right side that gave Michigan a two-goal lead. Meg Knudtsen (Los Altos, Calif./St. Francis HS) capped the barrage with yet another goal out of the hole set.
Michigan continued to increase its lead in the third quarter. With 5:15 remaining in the third period, Brown drew Michigan's second four-meter penalty of the game and sent the shot to the back of the net for an 8-4 lead. Redlands was able to counter with a power-play goal on its next possession to make the score 8-5 heading into the final stanza.
The Michigan defense clamped down in the fourth quarter, holding Redlands scoreless in the period. The Wolverines turned away many scoring opportunities, including back-to-back saves on a six-on-five by Armstrong. The Wolverines tacked on three more goals in the fourth quarter to secure the win, including Welch's third of the game and Geraldine Hazlett's (Modesto, Calif./Johansen HS) first career goal.
In the nightcap against Long Beach State, the 49ers dominated the first half and took a 6-0 lead with four minutes to play in the third quarter. LBSU scored a pair of goal in the first quarter and added three more in the second to take a 5-0 lead at the half.
After the 49ers increased their lead to six with the first goal of the second half, the Wolverines began their comeback. Megan Hausmann (San Diego, Calif./Bishop's HS) scored U-M's first goal of the game on a cross-cage lob shot from eight meters out at 2:02 of the third quarter. Then in the final seconds of the third stanza, the Wolverines drew to within four on a goal by Welch to make the score 6-2 heading into the final period.
Michigan continued to pressure LBSU and tallied yet another unanswered goal with five minutes to play in the game. Brown found Welch on a three-on-two counterattack and Welch sent the ball to the right side of the net for the score. Jo Antonsen (Agoura Hills, Calif./Agoura HS) then tallied her first goal of the game to make the score 6-4 with just over three minutes to play. Antonsen received a pass on the deep left side of the cage and beat the goalie near-side for a power-play goal.
The Wolverines will return to the pool Saturday (Feb. 26) for the second day of the Gaucho Invitational. Michigan will face UC Davis in the ninth-place bracket quarterfinals at 12:40 p.m. The match will take place at UC Santa Barbara's Rec Center Pool in Santa Barbara, Calif.
GAME SUMMARIES
| Game 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | F |
| Michigan | 3 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 11 |
| Redlands | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 5 |
Scoring
Michigan Goals: Shana Welch 3, Wesley Ellison 2, Erin Brown 2, Sheetal Narsai 2, Geraldine Hazlett, Meg Knudtsen. Redlands Goals: Mandy Zimel 2, Amanda Woodward, Meghan Rosenberger, Allie Hower. Ejections: U-M 8, Redlands 7.
| Game 2 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | F |
| Michigan | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 4 |
| Long Beach State | 2 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 6 |
Scoring
Michigan Goals: Shana Welch 2, Megan Hausmann, Jo Antonsen. Long Beach State Goals: Cassie Aszevedo 3, Jessica Levin, Janine Jackson, Robyn Gordin. Ejections: U-M 6, Long Beach State 5.
Q U O T E S
Michigan Head Coach Matt Anderson
On the fist two games of the tournament ... "Today, is an indication of the type of team we have. We lose a tough game to the No. 4 team in the nation in which we controlled the second half. If the game had been longer it would have been to our advantage. We started slow, but when we got into a rhythm we controlled the play. Unfortunately, we just ran out of time. Hopefully tomorrow will bring consistency against a pair of good teams. If we play four quarters in each game, we should have a good day."
On the way the team rebounded from the Loyola Marymount game ... "Even with us the way we played yesterday, I still knew that the Long Beach game was a game we were capable of winning. Yesterday was an aberration. Today is an indication of the type of team we are -- a team that can go toe to toe with any team we play. Yesterday was a game I don't want to revisit again."
N O T E S
With 11 saves against both Redlands and Long Beach State, Betsey Armstrong has posted 10 or more saves in a game five times this season. Through 105 career games, Armstrong has made 10 or more saves in 57 games.
Erin Brown tallied three points today on two goals and an assist to move into second on U-M's all-time points list. Brown now has 190 career points on 94 goals and 96 assists.
Shana Welch scored her third hat trick of the season with three goals against Redlands. Welch set a Michigan career and season record last year with 12 hat tricks and now has 15 in her career.
Geraldine Hazlett scored her first career goal in the fourth quarter against Redlands.
Contact: Paul Dickerson (734) 763-4423
