Michigan
Bucknell
Water Polo Completes Weekend Sweep of Home Invitational
3/4/2018 2:59:00 PM | Water Polo
» Michigan extended its winning streak to eight games.
» The Wolverines scored 71 goals during the five-game Wolverine Invitational.
» Twelve players scored for Michigan against Iona.
Site: Ann Arbor, Mich. (Canham Natatorium)
Event: Wolverine Invitational
Records: #9 Michigan (15-7), Bucknell (7-6), Iona (3-17)
Score: Game 1: Michigan 14, Bucknell 5; Game 2: Michigan 17, Iona 3
Next U-M Event: Sat-Sun., March 10-11 vs. Brown, Princeton and Hartwick (Oneonta, N.Y.)
• Photo Gallery: U-M vs. Iona
• Watch Replay: U-M vs. Iona
• PDF Boxscores: Michigan 14, Bucknell 5 | Michigan 17, Iona 3
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The No. 9-ranked University of Michigan water polo completed the weekend sweep of its home Wolverine Invitational, taking two games on Sunday (March 4) to extend its winning streak to eight games after a 5-0 weekend.
The Wolverines improved to 7-2 at home and 15-7 overall with the five wins on the weekend. U-M scored 31 goals combined in Sunday's two games to give it an impressive 71 in two days.
Game 1: No. 9 Michigan 14, Bucknell 5
In a nonconference game matchup between two CWPA teams, the Wolverines got off to a slow start but looked impressive overall against the Bison.
Bucknell scored first at the 2:23 mark of the first quarter, but Michigan would come back with four straight over the next 3:10 of the game. Freshman Maddy Johnston started the scoring with just over one minute to go in the first to tie the score at 1-1. Junior Julia Sellers and sophomore Maddy Steere then scored within 23 seconds of each other early in the second and freshman Sofie Pontré added one more to the 4-0 run.
The score was 7-4 with just under three minutes to play in the third when the Wolverines went on their deciding run. Michigan scored seven straight from the 2:40 mark of the third quarter through the 2:03 mark of the fourth. The run included a fourth-quarter hat trick from junior Kim Johnson and helped U-M walk away with a 14-5 victory.
Johnson was one of four Wolverines with hat tricks in the game. Steere had her fifth of the year to go with three steals. Johnston recorded her third career hat trick. Sellers picked up her seventh game with three or more goals this season. Pontré had a great all-around game with one goal, two assists and three steals.
Sophomore goalkeeper Heidi Ritner played 26:25 minutes with four saves and four goals allowed to earn the win.
Game 2: No. 9 Michigan 17, Iona 3
The Wolverines' final game of the weekend was all Michigan from start to finish. U-M matched a season high of 17 goals, the same amount it scored Saturday (March 3) against No. 19 CSUN.
While the offense was racking up seven goals in the first half and 10 in the second half, the defense was holding the Gaels scoreless in the first and third quarters.
U-M had 14 of its 16 field players score goals in the game to give the Wolverines a very balanced attack. All 16 had either a goal or an assist with 10 different players recording assists.
Senior Caroline Anderson contributed a lot to the offense with two goals and five assists to go with four steals. The five assists were one shy of her career best. Freshman Kathy Rogers led the team in goals with her first career hat trick. Two of her freshman classmates, Brittany Prentice and Emily Ritner, also had good outings. Prentice had two goals and two assists, while Ritner dished out three assists.
Michigan will travel to Oneonta, New York, next weekend to start conference play at Hartwick. The Wolverines take on Brown and Princeton on Saturday (March 10) and Hartwick on Sunday (March 11).
