Michigan
Indiana
Wolverines Edge Hoosiers in CWPA Showdown
3/16/2008 12:00:00 AM | Water Polo
Site: Ann Arbor, Mich. (Canham Natatorium)
Scores: #12 Michigan 6,#15 Indiana 5
Record: U-M (21-9, 6-0 CWPA); Indiana (10-11, 0-1 CWPA)
Next U-M Event: Monday, March24 --vs.Hartwick(Canham Natatorium), 7 p.m.
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ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- A stellar showing in the cage and strong team defense helped the No. 12-ranked University of Michigan water polo team a CWPA league game victory over No. 15-ranked Indiana, 6-5, in Canham Natatorium. The win marks U-M's first regular season conference victory over the Hoosiers since the 2004 campaign. The Wolverines also clinched a No. 1 seed at the 2008 Western Division Championships.
Junior goalkeeper Brittany May(Santa Barbara, Calif./Santa Barbara) used a personal best nine saves to get the win in the cage. She also came up with two crucial 6-on-5 saves in the contest.
Pressure from a multitude of Wolverines led to 11 steals and six drawn kickouts. Senior Michelle Keeley(Rockford, Mich./Rockford), junior Carrie Frost(Saline, Mich./Saline), sophomore Leah Robertson(Newport Beach, Calif./Newport Harbor) and freshman Alison Mantel(Miami, Fla./Gulliver) all had two thefts apiece.
Juniors Sharayah Hernandez(Pico Rivera, Calif./El Rancho) and Julie Hyrne(Sunnyvale, Calif./Archbishop Mitty) spread out the Wolverine offense scoring two goals in the first and second half, respectively. Frost and Mantel also chipped in markers in the game.
Indiana had the first scoring chance of the game when Kelsey Campbell nabbed the ball and raced in on May. The threat was broken up by Robertson who swam up behind the attacker, pulling the ball away from Campbell to deny the chance. Indiana would open the scoring later in the period with goals by Brooke Zimmerman and Maggie Hannon. Zimmerman blasted a shot from the perimeter, while Hannons tally came from down near two meters for the 2-0 edge.
The Wolverines responded with a pair of goals late in the period to knot the game at two apiece. Mantel collected a pass from junior Kelsey Haley(Portola Valley, Calif./Menlo) and skipped a shot over the IU goalkeepers outstretched arm. With time winding down in the first stanza, Hernandez took a low-angle shot to even the score.
Hernandez gave her team the lead with a skip shot from the left side of the pool, but Indiana responded with a power-play tally for a 3-3 tie going into halftime.
The teams exchanged six-on-five opportunities throughout the third period, giving Michigan the chance to pull ahead once more. With the man advantage, Hyrne received a cross-pool pass and found the space between the pipe and the goalie for the marker and the 4-3 lead. Frost put her team up by a pair of goals with a hard shot from the middle to close out the scoring for the third period. The Michigan defense shut down Indiana for the entire frame with May denying four shots in the eight minutes.
U-M pushed the advantage to 6-3 with a tally by Hyrne early in the fourth period. The junior let loose a shot from inside two meters that found the back of the net before the IU goalie could react.
Given a six-on-five chance, the Hoosiers narrowed the gap to 6-4 at 2:45 and followed the goal up with a hard shot byZimmerman from the driver position to pull within a goal with just over a minute remaining in the game. Indiana threatened again at the end of the game with another power-play chance, but a skip attempt ricocheted over the goal and out of play as Michigan would hold on for the 6-5 win.
The Wolverines will take on Hartwick at 7 p.m. next Monday (March 24) in Canham Natatorium.
GAME SUMMARY
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | F | |||||
| #15 Indiana | 2 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 5 | ||||
| #12 Michigan | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 6 |
