Michigan
UCLA
Top-Ten Duo Downs Wolverines at Stanford Invitational
2/9/2008 12:00:00 AM | Water Polo
Site: Palo Alto, Calif. (Avery Stadium)
Scores: #1 UCLA 16, #13 Michigan 0; #7 San Jose State 13, #13 Michigan 5
Records: U-M (2-4)
Next U-M Event: Sunday, Feb. 10 -- at Stanford Invitational (Palo Alto, Calif.)
PALO ALTO, Calif. -- Facing two of the nation's top teams, the No. 13-ranked University of Michigan water polo team lost to No. 1 UCLA, 16-0, and No. 7 San Jose State, 13-5, on Saturday (Feb. 9) as part of the opening day slate at the Stanford Invitational.
Junior Sharayah Hernandez(Pico Rivera, Calif./El Rancho) scored twice against the Spartans to become the 16th player in U-M history to score 50 goals in a career. Freshman Alison Mantel(Miami, Fla./Gulliver) also netted a pair in the nightcap.
Sophomore Kimberly Gero(Mission Viejo, Calif./Mission Viejo) earned the start in both contests, posting7 saves on the day. Junior Brittany May(Santa Barbara, Calif./Santa Barbara) appeared off the bench in both games, makingtwo stops in 24 minutes of work.
It took Michigan only 1:19 to get on the board in game two after being held scoreless in game one. Hernandez put U-M up 1-0 when she beat the goalie from three meters out, skipping a shot into the upper left corner. San Jose State evened things up at 1-1 less than two minutes later before taking a 2-1 lead at 2:01. The Spartans had a chance to add another between their two goals, but Gero used her left arm to cut down an SJSU penalty shot. Junior Julie Hyrne(Sunnyvale, Calif./Archbishop Mitty) struck iron as time expired in the first period, following a San Jose counterattack goal with 10 seconds left to extend its lead to 3-1.
Faced with her second penalty shot of the night a little over a minute into the second frame, Gero came up with yet another save -- this time scaling right -- to keep SJSU off the board. Senior Michelle Keeley(Rockford, Mich./Rockford) tried to get U-M back to its scoring ways following successive SJSU goals but her end-to-end sprint to the opposition cage went clanging off the crossbar. San Jose State was able to put one more goal in before the break to carry a 6-1 lead into the second half.
The Wolverines were quick to the draw in the second half, scoring 1:02 in the second frame. Freshmen Keller Felt(La Jolla, Calif./La Jolla) and Mantel got together on the marker. Felt, looking for an option close to the net, fired a pass across the goalmouth to a waiting Mantel who ripped a shot into the cage. SJSU responded quickly, putting two more goals on the board in a two-minute span.
Hernandez scored her second of the night at 3:54 left in the third period to pull the Wolverines to within five. The U-M junior sailed shot to the far post from seven meters for her seventh goal of the season. Two minutes later, SJSU finally solved Gero on a penalty shot, scoring on their third free shot of the day. Late goals from SJSU put the Wolverines down 11-3 heading into the final frame.
The fourth period was a back-and-forth exchange of goals with the teams alternating scores. Driving down the left side, Mantel let a shot go from seven meters that found the back of the net to make the score 11-4. Following an SJSU response, freshman Cara Reitz(Miami, Fla./Gulliver) deposited another marker for the Wolverines, spinning off a defender inside two meters and ripping a shot past the goalkeeper. SJSU added one final goal to finish off a 13-5 defeat for the Wolverines.
Michigan opened the day falling to the nation's top-ranked team, UCLA, by a 16-0 tally. The Bruins used a four-goal opening frame and a strong counterattack to stifle any Wolverine attempt to generate a shift in momentum. Three different U-M shooters hit the crossbar in the contest and Bruins goalkeeper Brittany Fullen stopped six Wolverine shots.
Michigan will finish out round-robin play against No. 4-ranked Hawaii on Sunday (Feb. 10) at 9:10 a.m. PST. The game will be played in the Baker pool in order to allow enough rest time for all teams before heading into tournament play Sunday afternoon in Avery Stadium.
QUOTES
Michigan Head Coach Matt Anderson
On two tough losses "Today was not the day that we wanted to have. We got in foul trouble andteams were successful on their power play and we didn't get many power play opportunities of our own. Whenever we come to California for the first time (in a season), at times, there are a little bit too many distractions. The girls had the effort but the other teams put the ball in the back of the net very well. We are looking forward to tomorrow being a better day, and I think it will be. We saw some good things today, but when you are playing top-five teams, you do not have the opportunity to make a few mistakes and think they are not going to take advantage of them. That is why UCLA is favored to win its fourth-straight national title. We will keep trying to get better, and we will get better."
GAME SUMMARIES
| Game 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | F | ||||
| #13 Michigan | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||
| #1 UCLA | 4 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 16 |
Mathewson, Nelson, Sullivan. Ejections: U-M 7,UCLA 11.
| Game 2 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | F | ||||
| #7 San Jose State | 3 | 3 | 5 | 2 | 13 | ||||
| #13 Michigan | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 5 |
