Michigan
Princeton
U-M Dumps Bucknell in Eastern Championship Opener
4/30/2005 12:00:00 AM | Water Polo
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- Senior Meg Knudtsen (Los Altos, Calif./St. Francis HS) scored her first hat trick of the season to help lead the No. 11 University of Michigan women's water polo team to a 7-1 victory over Bucknell Saturday (April 30) in the opening round of the Eastern Championship. Michigan jumped out to a quick 3-0 lead after the first quarter and played strong defense throughout the contest to seal the victory. The Eastern Championship is being held at Indiana's Counsilman-Billingsley Aquatic Center.
Megan Hausmann (San Diego, Calif./Bishop's HS) also had a strong offensive game with a pair of goals, as did Erin Brown (San Diego, Calif./Bishop's HS) and Sheetal Narsai (Commerce, Calif./Bell Gardens HS) with two assists each. Goalkeeper Betsey Armstrong (Ann Arbor, Mich./Huron HS) made eight saves and allowed only one goal in 26 minutes of play.
After Michigan won the opening sprint, Knudtsen gave the Wolverines a 1-0 lead with 5:40 to play in the first quarter. Knudtsen received a pass from Brown at the point and fired a shot to the left side of the net for the goal. Three minutes later, the Wolverines increased their lead to 2-0 with a Hausmann's first goal of the game. Brown dumped the ball to Hausmann in the hole set and Hausmann turned her defender for the quick score. Knudtsen then completed the 3-0 run with a power-play goal with just 30 seconds on the clock to give U-M 3-0 advantage after the first quarter.
The scoring slowed in the second quarter, with neither team able to capitalize on six-on-five opportunities midway through the period. Knudtsen scored the lone goal of the period with 1:17 to play before the half, once again taking advantage of the power play. This time, Knudtsen received a pass on the left wing from Narsai and sent the shot just inside left post for the goal. After 14 minutes of play, the Wolverines held a 4-0 advantage.
Michigan continued to dominate the play, scoring a pair of unanswered goals to start the third period. Hausmann drew an ejection on U-M's second possession of the quarter, resulting in a goal by Shana Welch (Larksville, Pa./Wyoming Valley West HS) with the assist going to Antonsen. The Wolverines then took a 6-0 lead with 3:44 remaining in the third period on a goal by Hausmann. With less than one minute to play in the third quarter, Bucknell finally got on the board with a power-play goal to make the score 6-1 heading into the final period.
Michigan's defense controlled the game over the final seven minutes, killing four power plays in the fourth quarter. The Wolverines sealed the victory when Jamie Brown (San Diego, Calif./Bishop's HS) found Carly Strub (Annapolis, Md./Broadneck HS) with a long pass near the left post for the final goal of the game.
The Wolverines (26-12) will face No. 16 Princeton in the semifinals of the Eastern Championship on Saturday (April 30) at 8:30 p.m. The winner of the Eastern Championship earns an automatic bid to the NCAA Championship, scheduled for May 13-15 at U-M's Canham Natatorium.
GAME SUMMARY
| Score by Periods | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | F |
| Bucknell | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Michigan | 3 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 7 |
Scoring
Bucknell Goals: Jennifer Swoyer. Michigan Goals: Meg Knudtsen 3, Megan Hausmann 2, Shana Welch, Carly Strub. Ejections: BU 5, U-M 8. Goalie Saves: Mandy Bynum (BU) 7, Betsey Armstrong (U-M) 8.
N O T E S
Betsey Armstrong made eight saves to up her season total to 256 stops on the year. Armstrong has now recorded at least 250 saves in each of her four seasons at Michigan.
Meg Knudtsen scored her first hat trick of the season with three goals against Bucknell. Knudtsen now has five career hat tricks.
Jo Antonsen scored the 150th point of her career with an assist against Bucknell. Antonsen is only the fifth player in Michigan history with at least 150 career points.
Contact: Paul Dickerson (734) 763-4423
