Michigan
USC
Michigan Drops Opener to No. 2 USC
1/20/2017 12:00:00 AM | Water Polo
» USC closed the game on an 8-0 run, shutting the Wolverines out in the second half.
» Freshman Maddy Steere scored Michigan's first two goals of 2017.
» Freshman Heidi Ritner had 11 saves in goal.
Site: Santa Barbara, Calif. (UCSB Campus Pool)
Event: UCSB Winter Invite
Score: #2 USC 11, #8 Michigan 3
Records: Michigan (0-1), USC (1-0)
Next U-M Event: Saturday, Jan. 21 -- vs. CSU Bakersfield (9 a.m. PST) and No. 9 UCSB (12:30 p.m. PST)
SANTA BARBARA, Calif. -- The No. 8-ranked University of Michigan water polo team opened the 2017 season with an 11-3 loss to No. 2 USC on Friday (Jan. 20) at the UCSB Winter Invite held at the UCSB Campus Pool.
As the teams were warming up a double rainbow appeared in the skies above. It made for a picturesque setting for the start of the 2017 season. It also helped that two of the top four teams from 2016 were going head to head to kick off 2017.
The game lived up to its top 10 billing through the first period with USC hanging on to a 3-2 lead. Michigan then tied the score at 3-3, before the Trojans went on a big run. USC, which returned the bulk of its 2016 NCAA championship squad, did not allow another goal the rest of the way. The defending champ outscored Michigan 8-0 to close out the game, scoring four in the second, three in the third and one in the fourth period.
Two freshmen were in the Michigan starting lineup to make their collegiate debut. Heidi Ritner (Newport Beach, Calif.) was in goal, and Maddy Steere (Pascoe Vale, Australia) was at center defender.
Steere wasted no time making an impact for the Maize and Blue, scoring Michigan's first goal of 2017 with a nice outside shot to tie the game at 1-1. She then converted a five-meter penalty shot to make it 2-2. USC added a goal to take a 3-2 lead after the first period. Ritner was as good as advertised in the cage, making 11 saves against the Trojans.
Sophomore Julia Sellers (Santa Ana, Calif.) scored the third goal for the Wolverines in the second period. She had 24 goals as a freshman, coming on strong late in the year.
Midway through the third period freshman Skyler Pyle (Long Beach, Calif.) made her collegiate debut, joining her classmates Ritner and Steere in the pool.
USC did a good job throughout the game limiting Michigan's chances and keeping the returning firepower for the Wolverines off the scoreboard. The game was well played on both sides of the ball with only eight exclusions combined from the two teams. Michigan only had two in the contest.
Michigan will play two games tomorrow (Saturday, Jan. 21). The first will be at 9 a.m. PST against No. 25 CSU Bakersfield, and then a couple of hours after the conclusion of that game U-M will take on No. 9 UCSB at 12:30 p.m. PST.
