Michigan
Wagner
U-M Plays Three Games to Start Michigan Invitational
1/27/2018 8:31:00 PM | Water Polo
» Michigan's bench went toe-to-toe with the Chinese National Team.
» Kim Johnson matched a career high with five goals against Wagner.
» Wolverines battle No. 4 UCLA in Saturday's finale.
Site: Ann Arbor, Mich. (Canham Natatorium)
Event: Michigan Invitational
Records: No. 8 Michigan (4-3), No. 20 Wagner (0-1), China (0-0), No. 4 UCLA (7-0)
Score: Game 1: Michigan 10, Wagner 7; Game 2 (Exhibition): China 13, Michigan 10; Game 3: UCLA 9, Michigan 5
Next U-M Event: Jan. 28 – Michigan Invitational (Ann Arbor, Mich.), starting at 7:45 a.m.
• PDF Boxscores: Michigan 10, Wagner 7 | China 13, Michigan 10 (Exhibition) | UCLA 9, Michigan 5
• Photo Gallery
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The No. 8 University of Michigan water polo team kicked off the two-day Michigan Invitational by playing three games on Saturday (Jan. 27).
The Wolverines started the day with an impressive second half to beat No. 20 Wagner. Michigan's bench players stepped up in a big way to take the Chinese National Team to a 13-10 finish and the nightcap featured a roaring Canham Natatorium crowd for a top 10 show down against No. 4 UCLA.
Game 1: No. 8 Michigan 10, No. 20 Wagner 7
The Wolverines knew they had a tough matchup in store when they faced off against a fellow NCAA team from 2017. Three straight goals in the second quarter gave Wagner a 6-5 lead at the half to make U-M fans a little nervous.
However, the Michigan defense that was so good during the opening weekend of the season came through again by holding the Seahawks to just one goal in the second half. Sophomore Cameron Cordial was making just her second career start in goal and had four saves and four steals in the win.
Junior Kim Johnson helped the Wolverines pull away with two of her game-high five goals coming in the third quarter. The five goals matched a career high for Johnson, who continuously gained favorable position on the inside with her athleticism. She also had four steals in the contest.
Senior Caroline Anderson and sophomore Maddy Steere each tallied two goals and one assist. Anderson added three steals for a defense that racked up 17 steals in the outing.
Game 2: Chinese National Team 13, No. 8 Michigan 10 (Exhibition)
Michigan's second game of the day was one of two weekend exhibitions against the Chinese National Team.
In order to rest his starters for the third game of the day, head coach Dr. Marcelo Leonardi sent his "bench mob" against China.
Although they did not pull through with a victory, falling 13-10, Michigan's reserves impressed Leonardi.
Freshman Maddie O'Reilly notched four goals and three steals to lead the squad in scoring. Junior Delaney Cleveland was the other U-M player to score multiple goals (2). Senior Laura Jimenez had a great all-around game with one goal, one assist and two steals.
U-M controlled the first period, leading 3-1 after eight minutes, but China stormed back in the middle half of the game with five goals in both the second and third quarters. The scoring barrage was too much to overcome as Jiawen Lu led China's squad with five goals and three assists.
Cordial made nine saves in the game before she gave way to freshman Sara Campbell, who made one save in the final 5:17 minutes.
Game 3: No. 4 UCLA 9, No. 8 Michigan 5
The last game of the day was a top-10 matchup that drew a great crowd. The atmosphere was great with the alumni band playing, the team's family and friends out in full force to cheer them on and their second-grade pen pals from Burns Park Elementary School bouncing homemade signs in support for Team 18.
UCLA scored four of the first five goals to try to quiet the crowd, but a goal with six seconds left in the first quarter by Caroline Anderson sent the crowd into a frenzy.
Just 1:26 into the second quarter, U-M drew a penalty foul and Maddy Steere converted to cut the lead to one goal at 4-3. UCLA answered with two more goals to extend the lead to 6-3 at halftime.
Michigan tried to muster another comeback in the third quarter when freshman Maddy Johnston took a pass from Anderson from six meters out and scored to make it 6-4. Again, UCLA had an answer with two more goals and that was as close as U-M would come.
The fourth quarter was scoreless as the two defenses settled in to a style more reminiscent of UCLA's 5-4 win last week.
Steere led the team with two goals, one assist and two steals.
Michigan will play three more games on Sunday (Jan. 28) starting with No. 9 Pacific at 9 a.m. They then will play back-to-back against China at 11:30 a.m. and No. 24 Marist at 12:45 p.m.
