Michigan
Saint Francis (Pa.)
Michigan Cruises to 2-0 Start in Conference Play
4/6/2019 5:40:00 PM | Water Polo
» Michigan outscored its opponents, 39-3, in two conference wins Saturday.
» TheWolverines held both opponents scoreless in the first half.
» Julia Sellers scored nine goals over two games.
Site: Cambridge, Mass. (Blodgett Pool)
Scores: #6 Michigan 18, Saint Francis 1; #6 Michigan 21, Brown 2
Records: U-M (17-8, 2-0 CWPA), SFU (9-19, 0-1 CWPA), Brown (15-11, 0-3 CWPA)
Next U-M Event: Sunday, Apr. 7 -- vs. Princeton (Cambridge, Mass.), 9 a.m.
• Boxscores: Saint Francis (Pa.) | Brown
CAMBRIDGE, Mass. -- The University of Michigan water polo team opened conference play on Saturday (April 6) with victories over CWPA opponents Saint Francis (Pa.), 18-1, and Brown, 21-2, at Blodgett Pool on the campus of Harvard University.
The Wolverines started the conference season 2-0 behind dominant performances on both ends of the pool, outscoring the their opponents, 39-3. On the defensive end, junior goaltender Heidi Ritner played 40 minutes and allowed only one goal. On offense, senior Julia Sellers and freshman Erin Neustrom were two standouts among a cast of terrific performances. Sellers had nine goals while Neustrom scored six times.
Game 1: Michigan 18, Saint Francis (Pa.) 1
The Michigan defense was suffocating, holding the Red Flash scoreless for the first 31:03 of the game. Juniors Ritner and Cameron Cordial each played one half in goal. Ritner made three saves in the first half and Cordial made eight saves in the second, allowing just the one goal.
Sophomore Kathy Rogers also was a big contributor on defense with three steals and a field block off the bench.
On offense, eight different Wolverines scored goals. Neustrom led the way with a career-high four goals and also drew three exclusions.
Junior Skyler Pyle racked up a career-high four assists to go along with one goal. Three other players had four points. Freshman Abby Andrews scored three goals to go with one assist and three steals. Julia Sellers had a hat trick as well, her seventh of the year, and one assist. Freshman Kayla Barone had a season-high four points with two goals and two assists.
Freshman Sidney Vranesh scored her first collegiate goal, scoring from the outside in the second quarter.
U-M put up five goals in the first quarter and six in the second to build an 11-0 halftime lead. The Wolverines added three more in the third and four in the fourth as head coach Dr. Marcelo Leonardi gave his bench players extensive minutes.
Game 2: Michigan 21, Brown 2
U-M continued to control both ends of the pool in game two of the day. The Wolverines once again pitched a first-half shutout as they build an 8-0 advantage. Five goals came in the first quarter with four of those being scored by Sellers.
Brown got on the board at the 1:07 mark of the third period and added one more goal in the fourth, but the game was Michigan's from start to finish.
Sellers finished with a career-high six goals and eight points to lead the Wolverines. Junior Maddy Steere matched her career high with seven points, posting four goals and three assists. Andrews also had a big game with nine points to match her season best. She had three goals and six assists, the third time this season she has recorded six assists in a game.
Barone also was impressive with four steals. Ritner played three quarters and made four saves with three assists. Cordial made three saves in the fourth quarter.
The Wolverines will be back at Blodgett Pool on Sunday (April 7) to take on No. 15-ranked Princeton at 9 a.m., and the game will be streamed live on ESPN+.
