U-M Splits with No. 19 Brown, No. 10 Princeton on Day One of Conference Crossover

Saturday, March 2

Princeton, N.J.

11:00 AM

Michigan

13-6, 2-0

Brown

8-8, 0-2

Michigan

Brown

(Michigan Photography)

U-M Splits with No. 19 Brown, No. 10 Princeton on Day One of Conference Crossover

3/2/2024 11:24:00 PM | Water Polo

Box Score 1 Box Score 2

By: Alex Whisnant

PRINCETON, N.J. -- The No. 8-ranked University of Michigan water polo team defeated No. 19 Brown 12-7 before falling to No. 10 Princeton 10-8 on Saturday (March 2), the first day of Conference Crossover at DeNunzio Pool.

Reigning CWPA Player of the Week Kata Utassy made her presence felt in the first game of the day against Brown, scoring four goals to lead all scorers. Issy Jackson notched a hat trick while five other Wolverines accounted for a goal each.

Brown (9-8, 1-2 CWPA) opened the scoring 45 seconds into the game on a power play to take the lead, 1-0. Goals by Jackson and Utassy gave Michigan (13-7, 2-1 CWPA) its first lead of the game at 5:10 in the first. Brown equalized with 1:56 to go in the frame before Alison Lock put one past the goalie to put the Wolverines in front 3-2 at the end of the opening period.

Kaia Levenfeld opened the second quarter with a penalty goal to propel the Maize and Blue to a multi-goal lead at 4-2. The Bears scored to briefly cut the lead to one before Sammi Monroe and Jackson answered with scores of their own to make it a 6-3 game at the half.

The Wolverines took control of the contest as Elise Walker and Utassy dented the twine to give U-M an 8-3 edge. Brown scored two more goals in the third, but Michigan matched to maintain the five-goal advantage, 10-5, heading to the fourth quarter.

Utassy scored her fourth goal of the game at 4:38 to make it an 11-5 game. The final two minutes of action featured four total scores as the Bears and Wolverines each found paydirt twice and Michigan secured a 12-7 win to open the conference weekend.

Utassy paced the Michigan offense again in the second game against Princeton, scoring twice in the first half. Six other Wolverines accounted for a score in the loss.

The Tigers opened the scoring with two goals in the first three minutes to grab an early 2-0 lead. Utassy got on the scoresheet to cut the deficit in half, 2-1, at 5:18 in the first. Two more goals by Princeton (10-2, 4-0 CWPA) extended the hosts' lead to 4-1 before Lock found the back of the net to make it a 4-2 game at the end of the first.

Michigan gained momentum in the second quarter with goals from Libby Alsemgeest and Lulu Hirschfield to knot the contest at four at the 6:58 mark of the second. Both teams locked down defensively for the remainder of the period. Princeton inched in front before Utassy tied it again at 5-5 at the halftime whistle.

The home side looked poised to seize control of the game with three straight goals in the third, making it an 8-5 game with 2:10 left in the period. Levenfeld pulled one back for the Maize and Blue at 1:46, but Princeton responded 30 seconds later to restore the three-goal edge, 9-6, heading to the fourth.

Sammi Monroe cut the deficit to two, 9-7, at 6:27 in the fourth, but Princeton added another to push the lead back to three at 10-7. Jackson scored in the waning moments, but the comeback ultimately fell short as Princeton took the top-10 matchup 10-8.

Michigan will wrap up Conference Crossover on Sunday (March 3) at 9 a.m. with a matchup against No. 19 Harvard at DeNunzio Pool.