Mantel Sparks Wolverines to Wins over Siena, Brown

Sunday, February 15

Cambridge, Mass.

12:30 PM

Michigan

Siena

2/15/2009 12:00:00 AM | Water Polo

Site: Cambridge, Mass. (Blodgett Pool)
Event: Harvard Invitational
Scores: #11 Michigan 15, Siena 4; #11 Michigan 8, Brown 4
Record: U-M (7-4), Siena (0-1), Brown (0-1)
Next U-M Event: Friday, Feb. 21 -- vs. San Diego State (12:45 p.m. PST), vs. Hawaii or Cal State Northridge (4:30 or 5:45 p.m. PST) at Anteater Invitational (Irvine, Calif.)

Notes & Quotes

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. -- The No. 11-ranked University of Michigan water polo team swept through day two of the Harvard Invitational, prevailing over Siena, 15-4, and Brown, 8-4, on Sunday (Feb. 15) at Blodgett Pool. The Wolverines kept the opposition off the board in the first half in both contests.

Sophomore Alison Mantel(Miami, Fla./Gulliver) dented the twine five times, including a hat trick in the first game of the day. Three other Wolverines scored in both games, highlighted by freshman Meagan Cobb's (Hudsonville, Mich./Hudsonville) three-goal day. Senior Julie Hyrne(Sunnyvale, Calif./Archbishop Mitty) had a strong day at both ends of the pool, scoring once, helping on three others and recording seven steals.

Freshman Morgan Turner(Mission Viejo, Calif./Trabuco Hills) got her second straight start and made four saves against Siena. Senior/junior goalkeeper Brittany May(Santa Barbara, Calif./Santa Barbara) made seven saves and chipped in an assist against Brown. Junior Terri Bukofzer(Vernon Hills, Ill./Stevenson) tallied two assists and had one block in eight minutes in the cage in the opener, and she also had a goal in both games in the field.

Michigan ran into a hot goalkeeper in the nightcap, scoring eight times despite peppering Stephanie Laing with 25 shots. The Wolverines got the only goal of the first period when senior Carrie Frost(Saline, Mich./Saline) scored 1:53 into the contest. Michigan played stingy defense while Brown got help in the cage. On her first touch of the contest, Cobb ripped a backhanded shot under the goalkeeper 17 seconds into the second period. Bukofzer converted a power-play chance followed by a marker from senior Mary Chatigny(Palm Springs, Calif./Palm Springs) to give U-M a 4-0 lead at the half.

Following the break, Brown rattled off three straight goals to pull to within a one-goal margin at 4-3. After the Bears' third goal with 2:44 left, the Maize and Blue caught a break when senior Kelsey Haley(Portola Valley, Calif./Menlo) launched a mid-pool shot that found its target. Mantel rebuilt Michigan's lead to 7-3, scoring with 1:03 remaining in the third period and again, on the power play, 34 seconds into the final stanza. Brown made one last push, but its 6-on-5 goal was nullified by a Hyrne goal with 3:33 left in the contest.

Mantel got to work on the sixth hat trick of her career in the opener, scoring the first three goals of the game within 1:38 of the sprint. Hyrne set up the first and third goals, and Mantel made a steal and swam the length of the pool on her second goal. Frost and sophomore Keller Felt(La Jolla, Calif./La Jolla) converted counterattack goals followed by a five-meter penalty goal from Orth at 3:11. To round out the scoring in the period, sophomore Sarah Roberts(Costa Mesa, Calif./Newport Harbor) and senior Carrie Stover(Ann Arbor, Mich./Pioneer) each scored a goal of her own and assisted on another. Roberts set up a goal by Stover, who picked up the assist on a 6-on-5 goal from Bukofzer. Roberts then ended the period by setting up Orth on a successful counterattack to give U-M a 9-0 lead after one period.

Cobb was the story in the second stanza, scoring twice, assisting on another and drawing a five-meter penalty. Sophomore Ryley Plunkett(Modesto, Calif./Johansen) and junior Casie Kelly(Longwood, Fla./Lake Brantley) both found the Wolverine freshman in at two meters, where she turned and scored twice. With 3:23 remaining in the half, Cobb drew a five-meter toss which Sarah Davila(Yorba Linda, Calif./El Dorado) converted into a 12-0 lead. Cobb connected with classmate Roxanne Mansfield(San Mateo, Calif./St. Francis) at 1:24 to close out the first-half scoring.

The third period was all Siena, as the Saints chipped away two goals from the U-M lead to pull to within a 13-2 margin. Bukofzer took over in the cage in the final frame but remained a big part of the Wolverine offense. After allowing a goal early in the period, the new netminder launched a pass to Stover, who netted her second of the game at 4:45 to give the Wolverines a 14-3 lead. Roberts was at the receiving end of another long pass from Bukofzer, scoring at 3:29 to end the U-M run on the Siena net. The Saints found the net one more time before the final buzzer sounded.

Michigan will return to the left coast for the Anteater Invitational next weekend (Feb. 21-22) in Irvine, Calif. The Maize and Blue opens with San Diego State on Friday (Feb. 21) at 12:45 p.m. PST followed by either Hawaii or Cal State Northridge for the evening session.

GAME SUMMARIES

Score By Periods	1	2	3	4	F
Michigan	9	4	0	2	15
Siena	0	0	2	2	4

Siena Goals: Lauren Garrigan 4.
U-M Goals: Alison Mantel 3, Lauren Orth 2, Meagan Cobb 2, Carrie Stover 2, Sarah Roberts, Carrie Frost, Terri Bukofzer, Sarah Davila, Keller Felt, Roxanne Mansfield.
Saves: U-M 5 (Morgan Turner 4, Terri Bukofzer 1)
Ejections: Siena 6, U-M 3

Score By Periods	1	2	3	4	F
Michigan	1	3	2	2	8
Brown	0	0	3	1	4

Brown Goals: Lauren Presant 2, Bethany Kowka, Sarah Glick.
U-M Goals: Alison Mantel 2, Meagan Cobb, Julie Hyrne, Carrie Frost, Terri Bukofzer, Kelsey Haley, Mary Chatigny.
Saves: U-M 7 (Brittany May), Brown 17 (Stephanie Laing)
Ejections: Brown 6, U-M 3