Michigan
Gannon
Cobb, Orth Spearhead Pair of Michigan Division Victories
3/13/2009 12:00:00 AM | Water Polo
Site: Ann Arbor, Mich. (Canham Natatorium)
Scores: #15 Michigan 18, Gannon 4; #15 Michigan 13, Mercyhurst 5
Record: U-M (17-8, 6-0 CWPA); Gannon (3-2, 0-1); Mercyhurst (1-10, 0-2)
Next U-M Event: Sat-Sun., March 14-15 -- host Wolverine Invitational (Canham Natatorium)
Results | Photo Gallery |Notes & Quotes
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The No. 15-ranked University of Michigan water polo team rounded out the home portion of its division schedule with decisive wins over Gannon, 18-4, and Mercyhurst, 13-5, on Friday night (March 13) at Canham Natatorium.
Sophomore Lauren Orth(Poway, Calif./Poway) notched a hat trick, playmaker and had three steals to lead the Maize and Blue against Gannon. The freshman class had a strong showing in the nightcap with Roxanne Mansfield(San Mateo, Calif./St. Francis) pulling five steals to go with two points, Milli Brown(Rockford, Mich./Rockford) committing four thefts to go with two goals and Meagan Cobb(Hudsonville, Mich./Hudsonville) posting her third career hat trick. All four Wolverine netminders spent time in the cage between the two contests with freshman Tara Brigham(Baytown, Texas/Sterling) topping the netminding corps with five stops.
Michigan jumped out to a 7-0 lead in the first period against Gannon. Junior Leah Robertson(Newport Beach, Calif./Newport Harbor) scored twice, including her 100th career marker, and had an assist in the period. Sophomore Sarah Roberts(Costa Mesa, Calif./Newport Harbor) tallied once and assisted twice, getting together with Robertson on both of them. Senior Julie Hyrne(Sunnyvale, Calif./Archbishop Mitty) tallied U-M's third goal while submerged under two defenders, blindly flicking a ball over the charging netminder.
After extending their lead to 9-0, the Wolverines ran into penalty trouble. Gannon scored three of the next four goals, all on the power play to pull the game back to a 10-3 contest. Junior Terri Bukofzer(Vernon Hills, Ill./Stevenson) launched in a shot from seven meters with under 10 seconds left in the half to give U-M an 11-4 lead at the break.
The third frame against the Golden Knights proved the only period that the opposition outscored the Wolverines. After Cobb caught a rebound at two meters and backhanded it home with 3:16 left in the period, it was all Gannon, which scored two more 6-on-5 goals to narrow the Wolverines lead to 12-4.
Michigan's offense reignited in the final quarter to the tune of six unanswered goals. Orth scored twice, completing her hat trick, and had an assist in the stanza. Sophomore Cara Reitz(Miami, Fla./Gulliver) alternated between setting up and scoringthe 13th, 14th and 15th goals. First she found senior Mary Chatigny(Palm Springs, Calif./Palm Springs) for a goal at 4:46, then scored one of her own on U-M's next trip down the pool before getting with Orth for a power-play marker at 5:57. Cobb and Brown scored within 20 seconds of each to end the Wolverine outburst.
In game two, the Wolverines found themselves on the wrong end of the scoreboard for 1:31 -- marking the only time they trailed all day. The Lakers scored 3:24 into the game to take a 1-0 lead. Cobb scored both of Michigan's goals in the period at two meters to give the Maize and Blue a 2-1 advantage after one quarter.
Michigan's offense once again answered the bell, scoring six times in the second stanza. Orth was called upon twice to take five-meter penalty shots and converted both of them. Cobb completed her hat trick and then some, scoring Michigan's last two goals of the period. Senior Sarah Davila(Yorba Linda, Calif./El Dorado) and Brown also got into the act as the Wolverines built an 8-2 lead at halftime.
Both team's buckled down on defense in the second half. Roberts opened the scoring just 17 seconds after the break, sending a fade away shot into the back of the cage. Mansfield, who assisted on the Roberts goal, switched rolls and took a pass from the sophomore and whipped a backhanded shot into the net. After a Mercyhurst marker, senior Carrie Stover(Ann Arbor, Mich./Pioneer) slammed a shot off cross bar, followed her own rebound and deposited the goal. The two teams alternated goals in the final frame to settle on the 13-5 score.
Michigan will host Iona at 10:45 a.m. on Saturday (March 14) to open day one of the Wolverine Invitational. The Wolverines will then celebrate the seven-member senior class before playing Marist at 7:45 p.m.
GAME SUMMARIES
| Game 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | F |
| Gannon | 0 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 4 |
| Michigan | 7 | 3 | 2 | 6 | 18 |
GAN Goals: Colleen Harrigeer 2, Lauren Myrick, Annie Greenhill.
U-M Goals: Lauren Orth 3, Terri Bukofzer 2, Leah Robertson 2, Cara Reitz 2, Milli Brown 2, Meagan Cobb 2, Carrie Frost, Mary Chatigny, Julie Hyrne, Claire Ivry, Sarah Roberts.
Saves: U-M 12 (Brittany May 5; Tara Brigham 3; McKenna Farrar 4) Ejections: U-M 8, GAN 6
| Game 2 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | F |
| Mercyhurst | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 5 |
| Michigan | 2 | 6 | 3 | 2 | 13 |
MER Goals: Rachel Griepsma 2, Laura Perez, Jessica Clemente, Tara Bouma.
U-M Goals: Meagan Cobb 4, Lauren Orth 2, Milli Brown 2, Carrie Stover, Sarah Davila, Roxanne Mansfield, Cara Reitz, Sarah Roberts.
Saves: U-M 4 (Tara Brigham 2; McKenna Farrar 1; Morgan Turner 1) Ejections: U-M 4, MER 5
N O T E S
Senior Mary Chatigny notched the 200th point of her career with a goal against Gannon. She had three points in the second game to bring her career total to 203 points. She is the sixth Wolverine to eclipse the 200-point plateau.
Chatigny extended her point streak to 12 games. She needs one point in the next game to match her career long streak. During the span, Chatigny has six goals and 13 assists.
Against Gannon, junior Leah Robertson tallied her 100th career goal. The milestone also moved her into a tie for ninth place all-time with Casey Kerney (100, 2002-04).
With three steals today, junior Terri Bukofzer moved into ninth place on the U-M career list. Bukofzer's 105 thefts eclipse Kristen Davis (103, 2006-07) on the chart.
For the fourth time in her career and second time this season, sophomore Lauren Orth tallied a hat trick and a playmaker in the same game. Orth's three-goal, three-assist game against Gannon goes with contests against Harvard on Feb. 14, 2009, Slippery Rock on March 8, 2008, and again against the Golden Knights on March 9, 2008.
Q U O T E S
Michigan Head Coach Matt Anderson
On today's games... "It was good to get the league games out of the way and now we have the tournament this weekend. I thought Meagan Cobb did some nice things out there. Roxanne Mansfield did well defensively. I thought that, especially against Gannon, that our counter was working well. Mercyhurst did a nice job of slowing us down in the first period, but thankfully our two-meter game played well with Cobb doing a nice job in there. It was good to see someone like Terri Bukofzer, who has been out of the water for a few weeks with an injury, to get back in and get into the rhythm. It was good tonight and hopefully we can continue tomorrow."
Contact: Ryan Sosin (734) 763-4423
