Michigan
Long Beach State
Wolverines Win Two at Barbara Kalbus Invitational
2/24/2018 8:07:00 PM | Water Polo
» Senior Caroline Anderson moved into second on the Michigan career-points list.
» Michigan advanced to the ninth-place game on Sunday at 1 p.m. PST.
» Freshmen scored five of the team's seven goals vs. UC Santa Barbara.
Site: Irvine, Calif. (Corona del Mar H.S.)
Event: Barbara Kalbus Invitational
Records: #9 Michigan (9-7), #19 Long Beach State (1-8), UCSB (10-7)
Score: Game 1: Michigan 8, Long Beach State 6; Game 2: Michigan 7, UCSB 5
Next U-M Event: Sunday, Feb. 25 -- Barbara Kalbus Invitational Day Three, ninth-place game vs. Loyola Marymount or UC San Diego (Irvine, Calif.), 1 p.m. PST
• PDF Boxscores: Michigan 8, Long Beach State 6 | Michigan 7, UCSB 5
IRVINE, Calif. -- The ninth-ranked University of Michigan water polo team bounced back from a tough loss on Friday (Feb. 23) to earn two victories on Saturday (Feb. 24) at the Barbara Kalbus Invitational.
The Wolverines rallied after a slow start to go on a 5-0 run to beat No. 19 Long Beach State, 8-6, in the first game of the day at Corona del Mar High School. Michigan then faced No. 17 UC Santa Barbara in the same pool Saturday afternoon and put forth a stellar defensive effort that allowed them to pick up a 7-5 victory.
Game 1: No. 9 Michigan 8, No. 19 Long Beach State 6
Michigan was sluggish in the early going against Long Beach State. The Beach jumped on U-M in the first quarter, scoring three times in the first 3:17 to open up a 3-0 lead. Michigan head coach Dr. Marcelo Leonardi called timeout and 11 seconds later junior Kim Johnson put the Wolverines on the board.
The teams traded goals throughout the rest of the first half and went in to halftime with Long Beach leading, 5-3.
U-M flipped the script from Friday night when they led 3-2 at the half and No. 8 Pacific went on a 5-0 run late in the third and throughout most of the fourth quarter to turn a 5-3 deficit into an 8-5 lead. This time around the Wolverines were the team that made a run.
Michigan outscored the Beach, 4-0, in the third quarter and had a 5-0 run until LBSU got a 6-on-5 goal with 2:55 remaining in the game to make it 8-6. The Wolverines' run featured bookend goals by senior Caroline Anderson, who finished with a monster game that included three goals and four assists. Â
Another key goal in the run was a drive by freshman Kathy Rogers that ended in a score and give U-M a two-goal lead at 7-5 with one second left in the third quarter.
The Wolverines were aggressive on offense, drawing 10 exclusions in the game. The defense was once again led by sophomore goalkeeper Heidi Ritner, who finished with nine saves and three steals, while allowing just six goals and even dishing out an assist.
Game 2: No. 9 Michigan 8, No 17 UCSB 6
The Wolverines fell behind by two goals in the first period before they buckled down defensively and only allowed one goal over the next 22:06.
A tremendous effort by junior Julia Sellers to wrestle the ball away from the defender inside and score got the offense kick-started. After that the freshmen stepped up. Rogers scored the first of her two goals in the second and Maddie O'Reilly picked her spot for a 6-on-5 goal to help send the game into halftime tied at 3.
Freshman Sofie Pontré came up big in the second half and gave U-M a 4-3 advantage with a catch and shoot on a 6-on-5 chance; she would later score again on a ball that just crossed the line to make it 6-4.
Just before that Maddy Steere helped Michigan take advantage of a pivotal moment in the game when a five-meter penalty foul was drawn. Steere stepped up and fired it in to break a 4-4 tie. Rogers extended the lead to three goals with a steal and a breakaway that she finished strong.
UCSB would get one more back on a deep shot late in the fourth but the Michigan freshmen had done too much damage, combining for five of the team's seven goals en route to a 7-5 win.
Michigan will close out the Barbara Kalbus Invitational on Sunday (Feb. 25) at 1 p.m. PT when they play for ninth place against the winner of the LMU vs. UC San Diego game at Corona del Mar H.S.
