Michigan
Harvard
Colton Strikes Down Harvard, U-M Advances to CWPA Semifinals
4/30/2010 12:00:00 AM | Water Polo
• Notes & Quotes | Photo Gallery 
Site: College Park, Md. (Eppley Recreation Center Natatorium)
Event: CWPA Eastern Championship (Quarterfinals)
Score: #7 Michigan 18, Harvard 10
Records: U-M (30-6), Harvard (12-13)
Next U-M Event: Saturday, May 1 -- vs. No. 5-seed Princeton at CWPA Eastern Championship (College Park, Md.), 4:30 p.m.
COLLEGE PARK, Md. -- Freshman Lauren Colton (Tustin, Calif./Tesoro) scored five times to catapult the No. 7-ranked University of Michigan water polo team past Harvard, 18-10, in the opening round of the CWPA Eastern Championship on Friday morning (April 30) inside Maryland's Eppley Recreation Center Natatorium.
Special teams dominated the game, accounting for 11 goals between the two teams. Michigan scored seven times in 6-on-5 situations, led by senior Leah Robertson (Newport Beach, Calif./Newport Harbor), who tallied three of her four goals with the extra attacker. Colton also tallied a power-play goal as part of a five-point game. Senior Casie Kelly (Longwood, Fla./Lake Brantley) tallied a playmaker (three assists) in the game.
Freshman Alex Adamson (Coronado, Calif./Coronado) earned the win, making eight saves in three-plus periods of work. Fifth-year senior Brittany May (Santa Barbara, Calif./Santa Barbara) made one stop in the final minutes of the contest.
After trading the lead through the first period, Michigan delivered a five-goal punch early in the second stanza before Harvard could respond. Junior Keller Felt (La Jolla, Calif./La Jolla) followed an early goal by classmate Alison Mantel (Miami, Fla./Gulliver) with two even-strength markers of her own. A flurry of ejections led to seven of the remaining nine goals in a busy period coming on 6-on-5s. Colton capped the period with a shot that hit the twine at the buzzer to give U-M a 12-6 lead at the break.
With a healthy lead in tow, Michigan continued to find success with the extra attacker, getting early goals from Robertson and junior Cara Reitz (Miami, Fla./Gulliver). Colton scored her fifth goal of the day to send the Maize and Blue into the final period up by eight goals. Harvard netted a pair early in the final stanza, but the Wolverines responded with two goals in the latter portion of the period to solidify the win.
The Wolverines advance to face No. 5 seed Princeton tomorrow (Saturday, May 1) at 4:30 p.m. Live video is available for a fee at http://www.stretchinternet.com/cwpavideo.html.
GAME SUMMARY
| By Period | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | F |
| No. 1 Michigan | 3 | 9 | 3 | 3 | 18 |
| No. 8 Harvard | 3 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 10 |
HAR Goals: Ita Barton-Kettleborough 3, Aisha Price 2, Shannon Purcell 2, Devan Kennifer, Elisa Molnar, Monica Zdrojewski.
Saves: U-M 9 (Alex Adamson 8; Brittany May 1), HAR 6 (Laurel McCarthy)
N O T E S
• The win gives the Wolverines three straight seasons with 30 victories.
• Freshman Lauren Colton scored a career-high five goals. Her previous best of four came against Colorado State on Jan. 23, 2010.
• Senior Casie Kelly collected her first career playmaker (three assists).
• Michigan's 18 goals are the most scored at the CWPA Eastern Championship by a U-M team. The previous high of 15 goals came against Bucknell on April 24, 2004. The Wolverines won that game 15-3.
Q U O T E S
Michigan Head Coach Matt Anderson
On the special teams ... "Our 6-on-5 worked as well as it has all year against a good opponent. I am very happy that a important part of our game has come together and is clicking at Easterns. It is extremely nice to see."
On the play at two meters ... "All game, between Meagan Cobb, Sarah Roberts and Lauren Colton, we were doing very good job at two-meters. Lauren did an outstanding job separating from her defender and finding her shot. She had, by far, the best game of her career. It is because she physically worked until she could get her shot off and was placing the ball."
On the play of Casie Kelly ... "Casie did a very nice job. She made a great pass to Lauren Colton on her powerplay goal. She did good job of feeding the ball to two-meters. It was a very good day for Casie Kelly."
Contact: Ryan Sosin (734) 763-4423
