Michigan
Marist
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U-M Edges Marist, Advances to NCAA Fifth-Place Game
5/9/2009 12:00:00 AM | Water Polo
Site: College Park, Md. (Eppley Recreation Center Natatorium)
Event: NCAA Championship (Consolation Semifinals)
Scores: #11 Michigan 9, Marist 7
Record: U-M (34-9); Marist (18-15)
Attendance: 555
Next U-M Event: Sunday, May 10 -- vs. Loyola Marymount at NCAA Championship (College Park, Md.), 3:15 p.m.
Game Summary | Notes & Quotes|Photo Gallery
COLLEGE PARK, Md. -- The No. 11-ranked University of Michigan water polo team pulled away in the second half to secure a 9-7 victory over Marist in the consolation semifinal of the NCAA Championship on Saturday (May 9) at Maryland's Eppley Recreation Center Natatorium. The Wolverines will seek a program-record 35th win when they take on No. 9-ranked Loyola Marymount in the fifth-place game tomorrow (Sunday, May 10) at 3:15 p.m.
Junior Leah Robertson(Newport Beach, Calif./Newport Harbor) was dominant at both ends of the pool, racking up five points and five steals. Seniors Sharayah Hernandez(Pico Rivera, Calif./El Rancho) and Julie Hyrne(Sunnyvale, Calif./Archbishop Mitty) had three points apiece, with Hernandez also picking up two steals and Hyrne drawing three power-play opportunities. Senior/Junior Brittany May(Santa Barbara, Calif./Santa Barbara) was steady in the cage, making five saves, including a pair on the penalty kill. Three different Wolverines won a sprint with seniors Kelsey Haley(Portola Valley, Calif./Menlo) and Carrie Frost(Saline, Mich./Saline) and sophomore Keller Felt(La Jolla, Calif./La Jolla) each claiming a victory.
The Wolverines came out of the gate with a thud and quickly found themselves facing a 2-0 deficit just 1:31 into the contest. Michigan was applying pressure, putting three shots off the ironwork before Marist put together its two goals. The Wolverines' response came in rapid succession just before the midway point of the period off the hands of Robertson and senior Mary Chatigny(Palm Springs, Calif./Palm Springs). Robertson struck first with 4:45 left in the period, taking a pass from Frost on the near post and skipping in an attempt. Chatigny was at the receiving end of a breakout pass from May, sending her in on a two-on-one that the senior slammed into the back of the cage. The Red Foxes were not going to go quietly, however, rifling off two more scores to reopen a 4-2 lead. Michigan's defense began to take control and the counterattack benefitted as Hyrne tallied from Robertson at 1:31 before swapping roles with 55 seconds remaining to level the score at 4-4.
The defense continued to buckle down on the Maize and Blue side in the second frame, limiting the Marist chances to just a power-play marker. Michigan took its first lead of the game 3:49 into the period as Robertson completed the hat trick. A Michigan steal sparked a feverish counter attack, led by Robertson. Hernandez launched a pass to the charging Wolverine, who was in all alone where she skipped a shot into the cage. The lead lasted for just under two minutes when Marist answered with a power-play goal 2:18 before the break. May made the initial save, but the rebound landed in the opposition's hand on the far side of the cage to even up the score at 5-5.
May was busy in the third period but answered the bell. After she made a save on a long blast early in the period, Michigan headed down the pool on the offensive. U-M drew a 6-on-5 opportunity late in the attack and converted to take a 6-5 lead -- one it sustained until the final buzzer. Robertson took a feed from sophomore Alison Mantel(Miami, Fla./Gulliver) and skipped the ball high off the water for the score.
Frost extended U-M's lead to 7-5 with a power-play goal that careened off the crossbar and in. With time running out, Marist snuck in a shot from eight meters out two seconds before the horn sounded to pull back to within one goal, 7-6, heading into the final period.
Michigan controlled the play in the final stanza, dominating at both ends of the pool. Hernandez and Hyrne started off the period by clanging shots off the crossbar. Hernandez went an alternate route 2:24 into the period, skimming the water with a shot that came to a rest in the net. Just past the four-minute mark of the period, Hernandez set up her classmate Hyrne with a pass into two meters, where a back-handed shot was sniped into the cage. Michigan's defense made the 9-6 lead stand up and staved off Marist, allowing just one power-play score with 24 seconds left to settle on a 9-7 final.
The Maize and Blue will hit the water for the final time in the 2009 season when it takes on No. 9 Loyola Marymount on Sunday (May 10) in the fifth-place game of the NCAA Championship at Maryland's Eppley Recreation Center Natatorium. Game time for the contest is set for 3:15 p.m.
GAME SUMMARY
| By Period | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | F |
| Marist | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 7 |
| Michigan | 4 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 9 |
U-M Goals: Leah Robertson 4, Julie Hyrne 2, Carrie Frost, Mary Chatigny, Sharayah Hernandez.
Marist Goals: Rachel Sunday 2, Katelin McCahill 2, Samantha Swartz, Angie Rampton, Rosie Pauli.
Saves: U-M 5 (Brittany May), Marist 11 (Jessica Getchius)
Ejections: U-M 6, Marist 8
N O T E S
Michigan improves to 6-0 all-time and 2-0 at the NCAA Championship against Marist.
The Maize and Blue improves to 3-7 at the NCAA Championship.
With the victory, Michigan improves to 34-9, matching the program record for wins in a season. The 2008 Wolverines also won 34 games, going 34-11 en route to a sixth-place finish nationally.
With three points today, senior Sharayah Hernandez has 202 career points. She becomes the ninth player in program history to reach the 200-point plateau.
Hernandez becomes the program's leading point-getter at the NCAA Championship, upping her total to 10 points in five games at the national tournament. Sheetal Narsai (8, 2002-05) was the previous record holder.
Junior/senior goalkeeper Brittany May eclipses the 400-save plateau in her career, becoming the third player in program history to do so. May's 404 saves are third-most for a U-M goalkeeper behind Kristen Davis (418, 2006-07) and Betsey Armstrong (1,267, 2002-05).
With an assist today, senior Julie Hyrne moves into a tie for second on the U-M career list with 118 helpers. She equals Sheetal Narsai (2002-05) and now holds a spot in the top two in every major offensive category in a U-M career.
Q U O T E S
Michigan Head Coach Matt Anderson
Opening statement... "You come to the NCAA tournament with the idea to continue to win and move forward. We came in with the object of being in the top four. Not winning allowed us to come out and play a game we didn't want to be in. I knew that was going to happen. I call it 'playing like you have a hangover'. It takes a little while for the talent and the intensity to pick up. We fell behind 4-2 but for the next 24 minutes we outscored them, 7-3. I told the young ladies this was a game no one wanted to be in, if they feel like they could be in the final four, which we did, then tomorrow's game is one we do want to be in because you always want to finish as high as you can, and we have a chance to finish fifth."
On what changed the momentum and who led the comeback... "We got a couple of counters. It was probably Leah Robertson. Two games in a row she has been amazing out there. She got that counter-attack goal at the end of the first period (to tie the game 4-4). She really didn't have any place to put it but found the back of the net. I think that energized the team. Everybody kind of followed her lead after that."
Contact: Ryan Sosin (734) 763-4423
