Michigan
Harvard
Michigan Defeats No. 16 Harvard, Advances to CWPA Championship Game
4/27/2019 5:25:00 PM | Water Polo
» Michigan will play in its 13th CWPA Championship game.
» The Wolverines extend their win streak to eight games.
» Freshman Abby Andrews tallied three goals and collected four assists.
Site: Providence, R.I. (Katherine Moran Coleman Aquatics Center)
Event: CWPA Championship Semifinal
Score: #6 Michigan 14, #16 Harvard 7
Records: U-M (22-8), Harvard (21-7)
Next U-M Event: Sunday, April 28 -- vs. No. 15 Princeton – CPWA Championship Game (Providence, R.I.), noon
PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- The No. 6-ranked University of Michigan water polo team defeated No. 16 Harvard, 14-7 in a Collegiate Water Polo Association Tournament semifinal game Saturday (April 27) to advance to the championship game for the 13th time.
Michigan's win over Harvard coupled with No. 15 Princeton's 11-5 win over No. 21 Bucknell set up the matchup for Sunday's (April 28) championship game. The Wolverines and Tigers will face each other for the conference title for the third straight year as U-M looks to win its fourth straight and ninth overall in school history.
The Wolverines took advantage of a two-week break and put together a huge first half. U-M scored five goals in both the first and second quarters to build a 10-3 halftime lead.
Two seniors, Kim Johnson and Julia Sellers, scored the team's first two goals and Johnson had two in the opening quarter to lift Michigan to a 5-2 lead after eight minutes.
Five different players scored goals for U-M in the second quarter. Sophomore Maddy Johnston picked up her second of the game to start things out. A penalty-shot goal by junior Maddy Steere and a 6-on-5 score from sophomore Maddie O'Reilly led to the Wolverines hitting double digits in the first half.
With the help of four Michigan exclusions in the third period, Harvard mounted a comeback attempt and outscored the Wolverines, 4-1, in the quarter to cut the Michigan lead to four goals, 11-7, heading to the fourth.
Michigan's defense clamped down in the final period, holding the Crimson scoreless over the final eight minutes. Junior Heidi Ritner made one of her six saves in the game, but it was the defensive pressure that kept Harvard off the board.
Sellers scored twice late in the game for her 11th hat trick of the season to go with two steals and two earned exclusions. She tied freshman Abby Andrews for the team lead in goals. Andrews had another huge game for U-M with three goals, four assists, four steals and a field block. She became the third player in school history to reach 120 points in a single season.
Steere tallied two goals and two assists in the contest to become the eighth player in program history with 300 career points.
The CWPA championship game will begin at noon on Sunday (April 28) in the Katherine Moran Coleman Aquatics Center. U-M defeated Princeton, 9-6, on April 7 when the teams faced off in the regular season.
