Michigan
UC Santa Cruz
Nisbet's Hat Trick Helps Wolverines Sink Banana Slugs
2/6/2004 12:00:00 AM | Water Polo
SANTA CRUZ, Calif. -- The eighth-ranked University of Michigan women's water polo team improved its record to 5-0 by cruising to a 13-2 victory against UC Santa Cruz tonight (Friday, Feb. 6). Michigan jumped out to a 6-0 halftime lead and never looked back. Senior Julie Nisbet (Santa Barbara, Calif./Santa Barbara HS) led the charge, tying her career high with four goals. Defensively, Shana Welch (Larksville, Pa./Wyoming Valley West HS) posted four steals and Betsey Armstrong (Ann Arbor, Mich./Huron HS) added three more from her goalkeeper position.
The Wolverines got off to a fast start, scoring on their first two posessions of the game. One more goal made the score 3-0 after the opening period. Michigan also posted three goals in the second period to take a 6-0 lead at halftime.
Michigan continued its dominance in the third quarter, outscoring the Banana Slugs 5-1 in the period. With the game in control, Armstrong left the game halfway through the third quarter without having faced a shot. With one period remaining, U-M held a commanding 11-1 lead.
After Armstrong left, Sharon Warner (Ann Arbor, Mich./Saline HS) took over the goalkeeping duties for the remainder of the game and made four saves, including three while UC Santa Cruz had a six-on-five advantage. The Wolverines tallied two more goals in the fourth quarter to make the final score 13-2.
Over the weekend, Michigan will compete in the Stanford Invite, facing the third-ranked Cardinal in the opening round tomorrow (Feb. 7) at 10 a.m. PST.
GAME SUMMARY
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | F | |
| Michigan | 3 | 3 | 5 | 2 | 13 |
| UC Santa Cruz | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
Scoring
Michigan Goals: Julie Nisbet 4, Casey Kerney 2, Melissa Goldberg, Kristin Hoogenboom, Rebecca Godek, Wesley Ellison, Megan Hausmann, Sheetal Narsai, Erin Brown. UCSC Goals: Emily Erskine 2.
Q U O T E S
Michigan Head Coach Matt Anderson
On the game ... "We were able to set the tone early and get lots of people in the game. Our defense played really well and because of that we were able to get our counterattack going."
On if the victory gives the team momentum heading into the Stanford Invite ... "It really does. We played this game so that we could have a game under our belts against a West Coast team in their place before the Stanford Invite. It was nice to be able to get back to work and refocus after getting over things that go along with the first road trip of the season. It was a very good way to start the trip."
N O T E S
The Wolverines are 5-0 for the first time in the program's history.
Julie Nisbet scored her eighth career hit trick with four goals tonight. It is Nisbet's first hat trick this season.
Shana Welch set a career high with four steals.
Erin Brown scored one goal in today's game to extend her goals streak to five games. Brown has scored in every game this season.
Contact: Paul Dickerson (734) 763-4423
