Michigan
California
Michigan Falls to Two Top-10 Teams at Stanford Invite
2/1/2020 9:38:00 PM | Water Polo
» Emily Ritner scored a career-high four goals against No. 6 Cal.
» Maddie O'Reilly posted six goals and four assists in the two games.
» Michigan was the first to score in double figures against Stanford since Cal on April 13.
Site: Stanford, Calif. (Avery Aquatics Stadium)
Event: Stanford Invitational (Day 1 of 2)
Scores: #6 Cal 10, #7 Michigan 8; #2 Stanford 13, #7 Michigan 10
Records: U-M (5-5), Cal (6-3), Stanford (6-0)
Next U-M Event: Sunday, Feb. 2 -- vs. No. 11 UC Davis - Stanford Invitational (Palo Alto, Calif.), 9:30 a.m. PST
• Boxscores: California | Stanford
PALO ALTO, Calif. -- The No. 7-ranked University of Michigan water polo team had already played four of its nine games against top-10 teams, and the Wolverines added two more on Saturday (Feb. 1) as they faced No. 6 Cal and No. 2 Stanford on the first day of the Stanford Invitational at the Avery Aquatics Stadium.
Game 1: No. 6 Cal 10, No. 7 Michigan 8
Michigan played another tight game against Cal after the two battled to a one-goal finish at the UCSB Invitational opening weekend. The Golden Bears won the first meeting on a last-second goal and would pull out another close victory, this time winning 10-8.
The Wolverines got off to a fantastic start against the Golden Bears, scoring four goals on their first five shots. Junior Emily Ritner scored on the team's opening possession after junior Maddie O'Reilly won the opening sprint. Ritner added her second score after O'Reilly converted a five-meter penalty shot. Later in the first period, sophomore Kayla Barone found sophomore Erin Neustrom for a score, making it 4-1 U-M with 2:33 left in the quarter.
Cal answered with a 4-0 run over the next 4:06 to take a 5-4 lead early in the second quarter. Ritner continued her impressive performance, bringing an end to the run and giving Michigan the lead back with two straight goals by the 4:25 mark in the second quarter. Â The Wolverines took a 6-5 lead into halftime as the defense picked up the rest of the half.
The defense continued in the third quarter as neither team could add to its goal total for the first five minutes. Cal broke through to tie the game at 6 and then took the lead with 1:38 left in the quarter.
With 6:37 to play in the fourth quarter, Cal's Kristina Garcia was called for an exclusion foul. U-M head coach Dr. Marcelo Leonardi called timeout to set up a play. Coming out of the timeout, O'Reilly scored her second goal of the contest to tie the game at 7.
The Golden Bears answered with a goal a minute later, but Michigan came right back and sophomore Ava Morrant broke into the scoring column on a five-meter penalty shot, tying the game at 8 with 4:44 left in the contest. Cal responded by scoring on back-to-back possessions and made some key saves down the stretch as U-M could not mount another comeback.
Ritner's career-high four goals led the team while O'Reilly tallied two goals and two assists. Neustrom also had five drawn exclusions to go with her goal. On defense, senior goalkeeper Heidi Ritner made five saves in the loss.
Game 2: No. 2 Stanford 13, No. 7 Michigan 10
The Wolverines had a tough test in the nightcap against host No. 2-ranked Stanford. The Cardinal jumped out to a 2-1 lead, but U-M held its own early with two goals by Neustrom and one by O'Reilly. Stanford led, 4-3, after the opening period.
A goal by junior captain Sofie Pontré and a second by O'Reilly propelled Michigan into the lead during the second quarter. Then three straight goals by the Cardinal put them back in the lead at 7-5. The U-M defense came up big late in the half with three field blocks to keep the differential at two goals.
After the Wolverines took the 5-4 lead, Stanford went on a 5-0 run over a span of 6:39. Despite the run and a four-goal deficit, the Maize and Blue stormed back with four goals in the third quarter to cut the lead down to two. The fourth goal came from freshman Anne Rankin with one second on the clock.
Stanford put the game away in the fourth quarter as they held U-M scoreless for over six minutes before O'Reilly tacked on one last goal. The Cardinal added two goals and won the game, 13-10.
Michigan was the first team since Cal on April 13 to score in double figures against Stanford. The Cardinal had a streak of 12 straight games holding teams to single digits.
O'Reilly finished the game with four goals, matching a career high. She set a new high with six points as she also had two assists. Neustrom scored twice. Heidi Ritner had five saves in the cage for the Wolverines.
U-M will complete play at the Stanford Invitational on Sunday with a 9:30 a.m. PST matchup against No. 11 UC Davis.
