Michigan
San Diego State
Michigan Comeback Falls Short, Finishes Sixth at NCAAs
5/11/2008 12:00:00 AM | Water Polo
Site: Palo Alto, Calif. (Avery Aquatic Center)
Event: NCAA Championship (Fifth-Place Game)
Scores: #5 San Diego State 12, #10 Michigan 9
Record: U-M (34-11); SDSU (31-7)
Next U-M Event: Season Complete
Notes & Quotes | Photo Gallery
PALO ALTO, Calif. -- The No. 10-ranked University of Michigan water polo team mounted a five-goal comeback in the third period, but U-M could not generate a lead, falling 12-9 to No. 5-ranked San Diego State in the fifth-place game of the NCAA Championships at Stanford's Avery Aquatic Center. The Wolverines finish the championship as the sixth place team.
Junior Sharayah Hernandez(Pico Rivera, Calif./El Rancho) scored two of her three goals on the afternoon in the midst of a third period scoring surge and had an assist. Junior Carrie Frost(Saline, Mich./Saline) scored twice -- both coming in the third frame -- and sophomore Leah Robertson(Newport Beach, Calif./Newport Harbor) had a goal, an assist and three steals. Junior goalkeeper Brittany May(Santa Barbara, Calif./Santa Barbara) made eight stops and had a steal in the U-M cage.
Hernandez and Frost sparked a third period rally that would turn a 5-2 deficit at the half into a 7-7 tie with eight minutes remaining. Coming out of the break, May had to come up big with a body save off a shot from three meters. After a pair of shots from junior Mary Chatigny(Palm Springs, Calif./Palm Springs) proved unsuccessful, Frost broke through to ignite the Wolverine offense. Frost took the ball at two meters, ducked under the defender and bobbed over the goalie before slamming the ball into the back of the cage. Less than 30 seconds later, Frost came up out of the water, stretching out her left arm to redirect a pass from Hernandez to pull U-M within one goal. SDSU responded with one of three penalty shot goals in the game to regain a two goal edge. Hernandez followed on the ensuing drive with a bullet from seven meters right after a foul call to knot the score at 6-6. At 2:02, the Aztecs netted a powerplay marker to take a short lived lead. Hernandez once again came up with the response, skipping a shot past the goalie toward the far bar. A wake generated by the crashing defenders pushed the ball across the goal line, tying the score at seven a piece.
In the fourth period, the lead returned to San Diego State thanks to a penalty shot and rebound goal within a minute of each other at 6:28 and 5:38, respectively. Freshman Cara Reitz (Miami, Fla./Gulliver) inched the Wolverines closer on a skip shot from two meters out on the right side as a penalty expired at 4:53. SDSU came roaring down the pool on the restart ricocheting a shot off each post before May could swipe it away. The two teams piled onto the ball and San Diego State emerged with the ball and dumped it in. Sophomore Terri Bukofzer(Vernon Hills, Ill./Stevenson) generated two great chances after the goal but it would be SDSU that scored first, putting a backhander in from two meters to go up 8-11. Freshman Alison Mantel(Miami, Fla./Gulliver) gave U-M one last push towards a comeback, making a timely steal at mid-pool and leading a two-on-zero with Hernandez toward the opposing cage. Mantel, carefully eyeing the looming defenders, tossed to Hernandez at two meters where the junior easily pushed the ball in to the net. The comeback ran out of time after the final SDSU goal at 1:08, putting the game out of reach at 12-9.
To build their early lead, the Aztec's used three six-on-five opportunities and a penalty shot in the opening frame to jump out to a three goal lead before the Wolverines had a response. San Diego State's first two goals -- on power plays at 6:25 and 2:28 -- were mirrors of each other with a player at two meters coming up out of the water to push a pass into the cage. The U-M deficit extended to three goals when SDSU converted on a five meter penalty shot with 1:17 remaining. The Wolverine response came at 1:01 remaining from Bukofzer. Covered well at two meters Roberts quickly flicked a pass out to Bukofzer who was waiting at four meters to drill a shot into the far side of the net to pull the maize and blue back within two goals.
In the second stanza, SDSU sandwiched early and late goals around a goal from junior Julie Hyrne(Sunnyvale, Calif./Archbishop Mitty). The Aztecs scored at 5:02 on a shot from two meters. The Wolverines answered with a counter-attack off a kick out at 1:38. Robertson threw a pass to mid-pool, leading Hyrne who was all alone on the keeper. With no pressure on her, Hyrne revved up and skipped a hard shot from three meters to draw the teams to within two. SDSU got its last goal of the half with seven seconds remaining on a power play goal from four meters.
ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM
First Team
Tanya Gandy (MVP) C UCLA
Courtney Mathewson C UCLA
Jillian Kraus C UCLA
Veronika Bartunkova C USC
Tumua Anae (GK) C USC
Miranda Nichols C USC
Jackie Gauthier C Stanford
Christi Raycraft C UC Davis
Second Team
Lauren Silver C Stanford
Heather West C Stanford
Brittany Fullen (Co-GK) C UCLA
Anne Belden C UCLA
Brittany Rowe C UCLA
Anna Gonzales C San Diego State
Jenna Schuster C San Diego State
Lindsay Kiyama C UC Davis
Leah Robertson C Michigan
Libby Davis (Co-GK) C Marist
Laura Condon C Pomona-Pitzer
Game Summary
| By Periods | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | F |
| #4 San Diego State | 3 | 2 | 2 | 5 | 12 |
| #6 Michigan | 1 | 1 | 5 | 2 | 9 |
| U-M Goals: Sharayah Hernandez 3, Carrie Frost 2, Terri Bukofzer, Julie Hyrne, Cara Reitz, Leah Robertson. SDSU Goals: Erinn Greenwood 3, Anna Gonzales 3, Jenna Schuster 3, Jessica Pace-Bowers, Becca Ur, Danielle Pelke. | |||||
Contact: Ryan Sosin (734) 763-4423
