Michigan
UC Davis
Michigan Takes No. 2 Cal to Wire, Beats No. 11 UC Davis
2/3/2018 10:42:00 PM | Water Polo
» Michigan lost a close one-goal battle with No. 2 Cal.
» Wolverines topped No. 11 UC Davis to start the weekend.
» Senior Caroline Anderson became 10th Michigan player with 150 career goals.
Site: Stanford, Calif. (Avery Aquatic Center)
Event: Stanford Invitational
Records: #9 Michigan (6-5), #11 UC Davis (2-3), #2 California (8-0)
Score: Game 1: Michigan 14, UC Davis 9; Game 2: California 11, Michigan 10;
Next U-M Event: Feb. 4 -- Stanford Invitational (Palo Alto, Calif.), starting at 9:40 a.m. PT
PALO ALTO, Calif. -- The No. 9 University of Michigan water polo team opened the Stanford Invitational with a 14-9 victory over No. 11 UC Davis, then lost by one goal to No. 2 Cal in the nightcap.
The Wolverines came close to beating a team ranked in the top two nationally for the first time in school history, but couldn't tie the game in the closing minute as they dropped a heartbreaker to the Golden Bears on Saturday evening.
After a disappointing home tournament last weekend, Michigan bounced back in a big way with a five-goal victory over No. 11 UC Davis to start the tournament.
Game 1: No. 9 Michigan 14, No. 11 UC Davis 9 [ PDF Boxscore ]
Following a great week of practice, the Wolverines came out firing on all cylinders in the first quarter against the Aggies.
Sophomore goalkeeper Heidi Ritner was back in the cage after missing the Michigan Invitational last weekend due to injury. Ritner and the U-M defense pitched a shutout in the first quarter and did not allow a goal for the first 9:30 minutes. Meanwhile, the offense put up four first-period goals to build a strong early lead.
UC Davis got its offense going in the second quarter, but couldn't gain any ground as both teams tallied three goals to make the score 7-3 at halftime. The big jump for the Aggies came in the third as they went on a 3-0 run to cut the lead to 8-6 at the 3:59 mark.
The Aggies got to within two goals twice more, at 9-7 and 10-8, but a Michigan run in the fourth quarter sealed the win for the Wolverines. U-M scored three straight over a three-minute span to build a 13-8 advantage with just over four minutes to play.
Senior Caroline Anderson notched her second goal of the game with six seconds left to tie a bow on the 14-9 victory. The goal was her 150th career score which made her the 10th in Michigan history to reach the milestone.
Junior Kim Johnson led the team with three goals, her fourth hat trick of the year. Anderson was one of four players with two goals as U-M provided a balanced scoring attack to match a season high in goals.
Ritner finished with eight saves and three steals, while Steere had two assists to go with two goals.
Game 2: No. 2 California 11, No. 9 Michigan 10 [ PDF Boxscore ]
A tight battle from start to finish, this top-10 matchup was a back and forth affair between the Wolverines and Golden Bears.
Michigan cut the lead to one goal with 43 seconds left in the game, but could not get another one through as Cal hung on for the 11-10 victory.
After Cal scored the game's first goal, Michigan controlled the rest of the first quarter, scoring three straight to lead 3-1 after eight minutes. The Golden Bears outscored the Wolverines 4-2 in the second as the two teams were tied at 5 headed to halftime.
A quick start to the second half had Cal up, 7-5. The teams then traded goals the rest of the quarter with Michigan scoring last to make it 9-8, Cal, at the end of three. Ritner came up big with a save in the final second of the period.
The Golden Bears had another hot start to the fourth with two more goals to build a three-goal lead. Michigan continued to claw back. Freshman Maddy Johnston skipped one in for her fourth goal of the game and then freshman Maddie O'Reilly scored from the side with 43 seconds to go. The valiant comeback fell just short as U-M ran out of time.
Johnston had a team-high four goals in the game to match her season total entering the day. Johnson added two goals to go with three drawn exclusions. Ritner finished with seven saves.
Michigan will have two more games tomorrow (Feb. 4) in the Stanford Invitational. The Wolverines will take on No. 17 San Jose State at 9:40 a.m. PT in the Belardi Pool and then will play for the final time of the weekend at either 2 p.m. or 3:15 p.m. PT.
