Michigan
San Diego State
Special Teams Cost Michigan on Day One of Anteater Invitational
2/21/2009 12:00:00 AM | Water Polo
Site: Newport Beach, Calif. (Corona del Mar High School Pool)
Event: Anteater Invitational
Scores: #6 San Diego State 10, #11 Michigan 6; #14 Cal State Northridge 9, #11 Michigan 6
Record: U-M (7-6); SDSU (7-1); CSUN (5-8)
Next U-M Event: Sunday, Feb. 22 -- vs. UC San Diego - Anteater Invitational (Newport Beach, Calif.), , 11:45 a.m.
Notes & Quotes
NEWPORT BEACH, Calif. -- The No. 11-ranked University of Michigan water polo team dropped both contests on the opening day of the Anteater Invitational, falling to No. 6-ranked San Diego State, 10-6, and No. 14-ranked Cal State Northridge, 9-6, at the Corona del Mar High School pool. Special teams proved to be a deciding factor as the Wolverines went 1-for-20 on the power play for the day while giving up four 6-on-5 goals in each game on top of two five-meter shots against the Matadors.
Junior Leah Robertson(Newport Beach, Calif./Newport Harbor) had five goals on the day, gathering four of them during the first game of the day. She also spread four assists across the two games.
Senior/junior Brittany May(Santa Barbara, Calif./Santa Barbara) made five saves against CSUN and had two more in 16 minutes of work against San Diego State. Freshman Morgan Turner(Mission Viejo, Calif./Trabuco Hills) spelled May in the opening game, making two saves and tallying an assist in two quarters of work.
Michigan had trouble getting started in the opener, falling behind 3-0 in the first period. U-M finally broke through 3:47 into the second frame when sophomore Lauren Orth(Poway, Calif./Poway) found the back of the net. SDSU rattled off two more scores in the period to carry a 5-1 advantage into the half.
With Turner taking over in net, Michigan struck first in the third frame. Robertson got her first of four second-half goals at 5:38 to pull within 5-3. The Aztecs responded with three straight goals to pull ahead 8-3. Robertson then struck again with 25 seconds left in the third period.
Just 41 seconds into the final stanza, SDSU scored again before Robertson answered at 4:38. The two teams exchanged power-play goals with sophomore Alison Mantel(Miami, Fla./Gulliver) accounting for U-M's lone6-on-5 score of the day. Robertson made one last push, making it a 10-6 contest with 19 seconds left.
The nightcap started out with the referee's whistle playing a large role. Cal State Northridge started things off with a penalty -hot goal. Less than a minute later, senior Julie Hyrne(Sunnyvale, Calif./Archbishop Mitty) drew a shot for the Maize and Blue that classmate Mary Chatigny(Palm Springs, Calif./Palm Springs) successfully converted. CSUN sandwiched two goals around a Hyrne goal later in the period to take a one-goal edge into the second period. The Matadors scored 2:18 into the second stanza, but U-M was able to stay close on a Sarah Roberts(Costa Mesa, Calif./Newport Harbor) goal from two meters a half-minute later. Midway through the period, Cal State Northridge got a power-play marker to conclude the first-half scoring and send the game into the break at 5-3.
The teams alternated scoring in the third period with CSUN striking first with 4:31 left in the period. Freshman Meagan Cobb(Hudsonville, Mich./Hudsonville) answered 20 seconds later, backhanding home a shot from two meters. CSUN needed 14 seconds to score again to grab a 7-4 lead. Inside a minute of the intermission, Mantel scored to keep U-M within two goals. Robertson cut the deficit to one goal with 4:46 left, but special teams provided the Matadors enough to hang on for the victory as Cal State Northridge scored on a 6-on-5 with 4:29 remaining and a penalty shot with 1:04 left to carry the 9-6 decision.
Michigan will play No. 16 UC San Diego at 11:45 a.m. PST on Sunday (Feb. 22) for a chance to play in the 13th-place game on day two of the Anteater Invitational at Corona del Mar High School in Newport Beach, Calif.
GAME SUMMARIES
| Game 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | F |
| Michigan | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 6 |
| San Diego State | 3 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 10 |
SDSU Goals: Jenna Schuster 4, Danielle Pelke 3, Erinn Greenwood 2, Anna Gonzales.
U-M Goals: Leah Robertson 4, Lauren Orth, Alison Mantel.
Saves: SDSU 8 (Kelly Campoli), U-M 6 (Brittany May)
| Game 2 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | F |
| Cal State Northridge | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 9 |
| Michigan | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 6 |
CSUN Goals: Kirra Kylander 2, Renee Gargiulo 2, Kristin McLaughlin 2, Jessica Coy, Sydney Sonada, Tara McGinley.
U-M Goals: Alison Mantel, Mary Chatigny, Leah Robertson, Julie Hyrne, Meagan Cobb, Sarah Roberts.
Saves: CSUN 13 (Jillian Stapf), U-M 5 (Brittany May)
N O T E S
Junior Leah Robertson matched a career high with four goals against San Diego State. She has two such games against SDSU, today's contest and Feb. 23, 2008, as well as a third four-goal contest against Bucknell on Feb. 18, 2007.
Robertson put her name on Michigan's all-time points list, using her nine-point day to pass Jo Antonsen (160, 2002-05) for 10th place. Robertson has 166 points in two-plus seasons.
With five goals today, Robertson passed senior Sharayah Hernandez (84) on the U-M career-goals list with 88 scores.
Robertson set a new career-long scoring streak, extending her scoring surge to eight games. She has 14 goals during the string.
Senior Mary Chatigny moved into sole possession of sixth place on the U-M career-appearances list, making her way into the lineup on 136 occasions as a Wolverine. She began the day tied with Betsey Armstrong (134, 2002-05) and Jo Antonsen (134, 2002-05). Senior Julie Hyrne also passed Armstrong and Antonsen, making her 135 appearance against CSUN, while senior Carrie Frost tied the duo, playing her 134th game.
Sophomore Alison Mantel extended her goal-scoring streak to 11 games, scoring 21 times during the span.
Q U O T E S
Michigan Head Coach Matt Anderson
On the results today ... "We did not play well in the opener. It ended up getting competitive in second half, but we did not put four quarters together. In the nightcap, we had 36 shots, 18 steals, controlled the pace offensively and the defense was hustling and doing what we want. It is kind of hard when you re 1-for-20 on the power play and your opponent scores two penalty shots as CSUN did and adds a couple power-play goals. I thought that in the nightcap, without a doubt, we played well enough and did enough things well enough to win the game. But we didn't score on any of our power plays and they did -- they scored four. I thought that we did a great job of rebounding in the second game and really played well enough to win. But 1-for-20 on the power play is as simple as I can break it down; that is why we lost twice today."
On the return of Leah Robertson ... "Leah just had a great two games. She was extremely productive on offense against SDSU and then put four more points up versus CSUN. Other girls had opportunities to score and stepped up and played well, unfortunately, CSUN's goalie definitely proved why she is among the best in the nation."
Contact: Ryan Sosin (734) 763-4423
