Michigan
UC Santa Barbara
Michigan Starts Barbara Kalbus Invitational with a Win
2/24/2017 12:00:00 AM | Water Polo
» Michigan went on a 5-0 run after UCSB cut it to 3-2 in the third quarter.
» Senior Allison Skaggs notched her third hat trick of the season.
» U-M scored on five of its six 6-on-5 opportunities.
Site: Newport Beach, Calif. (Corona del Mar Pool)
Event: Barbara Kalbus Invitational (Day 1 of 3)
Score: #8 Michigan 10, #9 UCSB 4
Records: U-M (9-5), UCSB (8-5)
Next U-M Event: Saturday, Feb. 25 -- vs. No. 1 Stanford - Barbara Kalbus Invitational (Newport Beach, Calif.), 8 a.m. PST
NEWPORT BEACH, Calif. -- The No. 8 University of Michigan water polo team defeated No. 9 UCSB for the third time this season to start out the Barbara Kalbus Invitational with a win Friday (Feb. 24) at Corona del Mar High School.
The first two meetings between the two top-10 schools were defensive battles with Michigan coming out on top 7-4 and 7-2. This time around the game was low-scoring in the first half before things picked up in the second.
UCSB got on the board first, but Michigan answered right away in the first quarter to knot the score at 1-1. Michigan put a big emphasis on 6-on-5 opportunities the last two weeks in practice, and it paid off with junior Caroline Anderson finding senior Allison Skaggs for the power-play goal. The goal was the 19th of the season for Skaggs.
Michigan took the lead in the second quarter when senior Danielle Johnson drew a five-meter penalty foul and freshman Maddy Steere fired in the penalty shot to make it 2-1. Anderson added a goal just before halftime to make it a two-goal game at the break.
In the third period, an exclusion was called on U-M freshman goalkeeper Heidi Ritner. UCSB took advantage of the extra-man opportunity to bring the game back to within one goal. After that goal Michigan took charge.
Skaggs collected a rebound and scored, Anderson had a spin move to get away from the defender for a goal, and then Skaggs got her third hat trick of the year with another 6-on-5 goal. Meanwhile the defense was sharp as Ritner made a brilliant save in a one-on-one opportunity and several field blocks helped keep the Gauchos off the board.
In all, Michigan scored four third-quarter goals. Sophomore Kim Johnson had back-to-back tallies as she closed out the third and started the fourth with goals to build the lead to 8-2 and make it a 5-0 run.
Each team scored two more after that, with Steere converting her second 5-meter penalty after Heidi Moreland drew the foul and junior Laura Jimenez recording her third goal of the year.
Michigan finished the game with five goals on six 6-on-5 chances. The offense was led by Skaggs with her three goals and one assist. Sophomore Julia Sellers had four assists in the contest, while Ritner finished with 10 saves and two steals. Steere was also impressive on the defensive end with four steals and a field block to go with her two 5-meter penalty goals.
The win was Michigan's fourth of the year over a top-10 team. Three of those victories have come against UCSB.
The victory over No. 9 UCSB will send the Wolverines on to the winners bracket to face No. 1 Stanford on Saturday (Feb. 25) at 8 a.m. PT at the UC Irvine Aquatic Center. The Cardinal defeated No. 22 CSUN, 16-5, to open the tournament on Friday.
