Michigan
Indiana
Michigan Drops Nailbiter to Indiana in Double Overtime
3/18/2005 12:00:00 AM | Water Polo
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The No. 11 University of Michigan women's water polo team lost a 7-6 double-overtime decision Friday (March 18) to No. 9 Indiana at Canham Natatorium. Michigan held a 6-5 lead after the first of the two regular overtime periods, but the Hoosiers answered with a goal in the second overtime and then scored the game winner with 0:54 to play in the first sudden-victory period.
Shana Welch (Larksville, Pa./Wyoming Valley West HS) led the Wolverines with three goals in the game, including the 100th goal of her career. Jo Antonsen (Agoura Hills, Calif./Agoura HS) also turned in a strong offensive performance with a career-high four assists for the Wolverines. Defensively, Betsey Armstrong (Ann Arbor, Mich./Huron HS) made eight saves.
Indiana took a quick 1-0 lead with a four-meter penalty goal with 4:54 to play in the opening quarter. On its next possession, Michigan drew an ejection on the Hoosiers, but Antonsen's shot was blocked by IU goalkeeper Jessica Goldner. After one period of play, Indiana held a 1-0 lead.
The teams played to a standstill for much of the second quarter, but Indiana finally broke through to take 2-0 lead with just over one minute to play before the half. The Wolverines answered with a pair of quick goals to knot the game at 2-2 after 14 minutes of play. Antonsen found Carly Strub (Annapolis, Md./Broadneck HS) in the hole set for a quick power-play goal with 0:46 to play before half. On the ensuing possession for Indiana, Michigan stole the ball and Armstrong found Welch on the counterattack. With a one-on-one opportunity against Goldner, Welch fired the ball to the left side of the cage for the score.
Indiana opened the second half with a power-play goal in the first minute of play in the third quarter to reestablish its one-goal lead, 3-2. Michigan countered with back-to-back goals to take its first lead of the game. After two quick ejection calls against the Hoosiers with 5:28 on the clock, Michigan had a two-player advantage. Antonsen found Megan Hausmann (San Diego, Calif./Bishop's HS) on the two-meter slot for a shot to the right side of the Indiana net. Michigan then took a 4-3 lead with a power-play goal by Sheetal Narsai (Commerce, Calif./Bell Gardens HS) at 4:45. Antonsen passed the ball up to Narsai at the point for a cross-cage shot that found the left side of the net.
Indiana tied the game at 4-4 with a power-play goal with 3:14 to play in the third quarter. The Hoosiers had a chance to regain the lead when back-to-back ejections on the Maize and Blue gave Indiana a two-player advantage. Michigan's defense, however, was up to the challenge, keeping IU off the scoreboard.
With 1:27 to play in the third quarter, Antonsen handed out her fourth assist of the game, finding Welch to a power-play goal that gave U-M a 5-4 lead heading into the fourth quarter. Welch posted up her defender five meters from the cage and fired a backhand shot to the left side of the net.
The Hoosiers scored the lone goal in the fourth quarter to send the game into overtime. Emily Schmitt connected on a power-play shot from five meters out to tie the game at 5-5 with 4:20 to play in the final period. Then, with less than 30 seconds to play, the Hoosiers found Carolyn Conway on the counterattack. Conway fired a point-blank shot, but Armstrong came up with the save to preserve the tie.
In the first overtime period, Hausmann drew an ejection on Conway to give the Wolverines a six-on-five opportunity. On the ensuing power play, Narsai found Welch on the left side of the pool for a skip shot to the lower left corner that gave Michigan a 6-5 lead heading into the second overtime. Indiana, however, answered with a power-play goal of its own with 1:14 to play in the second overtime to force sudden-victory overtime.
To start the sudden-victory period, Michigan created a pair of scoring opportunities early, but both attempts were saved by Goldner. With less than one minute left in the period and the shot clock winding down, Janis Pardy lofted toward the right side of the Michigan cage a shot that just fell over the line for the victory.
Michigan (14-9, 6-1 CWPA) will return to the pool on Saturday (March 19) when it hosts the Wolverine Invite at Canham Natatorium. The Wolverines will open the tournament with a match against Brown at 9:30 a.m.
GAME SUMMARY
| Score by Periods | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | OT | OT | OT | F |
| Indiana | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 7 |
| Michigan | 0 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 6 |
Scoring
Indiana Goals: Kandace Waldthaler 2, Janis Pardy 2, Krista Peterson, Emily Schmitt, Carolyn Conway. Michigan Goals: Shana Welch 3, Carly Strub, Sheetal Narsai, Megan Hausmann. Ejections: IU 7, U-M 12.
Contact: Paul Dickerson (734) 763-4423
