Michigan
Arizona State
Two Wins Give U-M Seventh Place at Triton Invitational
2/6/2005 12:00:00 AM | Water Polo
Site: La Jolla, Calif. (Canyonview Pool)
Event: Triton Invitational
Scores: #12 Michigan 6, #16 Arizona State 3; #12 Michigan 5, #15 Hartwick 3
Records: U-M (6-3), Hartwick (2-2)
Next U-M Event: Thursday, Feb. 24 -- at Loyola Marymount (Los Angeles, Calif.), 3:00 p.m. PST
LA JOLLA, Calif. -- The No. 12-ranked University of Michigan women's water polo team won a pair of games Sunday (Feb. 6) to finish seventh out of the 12-team field at Triton Invitational. The Wolverines topped No. 16 Arizona State 6-3 to open the second day of play and then defeated No. 15 Hartwick 5-3 to finish the tournament. Both games were played at UC San Diego's Canyonview Pool.
Shana Welch (Larksville, Pa./Wyoming Valley West HS) and Sheetal Narsai (Commerce, Calif./Bell Gardens HS) shared the offensive load, scoring three goals each over the two games including a hat trick by Welch against Arizona State. Jo Antonsen (Agoura Hills, Calif./Agoura HS) also helped the offensive effort with five assists on the day. Defensively, Betsey Armstrong (Ann Arbor, Mich./Huron HS) made the 1,000th save of her career with 13 stops against Arizona State and added eight more saves against the Hawks.
Michigan's match against Arizona State started slowly with the game remaining scoreless after five minutes of play. Erin Brown (San Diego, Calif./Bishop's HS) finally broke the tie with a goal at 1:43 of the first quarter to give Michigan a 1-0 lead heading into the second period.
In the second quarter, the Wolverines opened up a 2-0 lead with an early score by Welch at 5:43, but Arizona State quickly answered on its next possession to draw within one, 2-1. Michigan, however, was able to regain its two-goal lead with Welch's second marker of the game with 4:07 to play in the period, and the Wolverines took a 3-1 lead into halftime.
In the second half, U-M opened up a 6-1 lead with three straight power-play goals in the third quarter. Welch started the run with a goal at 5:50, followed by a score by Meg Knudtsen (Los Altos, Calif./St. Francis HS), and Narsai capped the flurry with a marker at 2:45. The Sun Devils scored a pair of goals over the remainding 10 minutes of the game but were unable to complete the rally as Michigan ran out the clock.
In their final game of the tournament, the Wolverines stormed out of the gates to take a 2-0 lead over Hartwick after the first quarter. Narsai and Carly Strub (Annapolis, Md./Broadneck HS) scored back-to-back power-play goals at 4:13 and 3:01, respectively, to give U-M the advantage. Hartwick, however, answered in the second period by outscoring Michigan 2-0 to make tie the game at 2-2 at the half.
After each team posted one goal in the third quarter, including a power-play goal by Vickie Brown (Santa Ana, Calif./Foothill HS), Michigan took control of the game in the fourth period. Megan Hausmann (San Diego, Calif./Bishop's HS) gave U-M a 4-3 lead with a six-on-five goal with 4:17 to play, and Narsai sealed the game for the Wolverines with her second goal of the game with 2:31 remaining. Michigan held Hartwick off the board for the remainder of the game for the win.
The Wolverines will have two weeks off before making their Spring Break trip to the West Coast. Michigan will start the six-game road trip with a match at No. 4 Loyola Marymount on Thursday, Feb. 24, at 3 p.m. PST in Los Angeles, Calif.
GAME SUMMARIES
| Game 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | F |
| Michigan | 1 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 6 |
| Arizona State | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
Scoring
Michigan Goals: Shana Welch 3, Erin Brown, Sheetal Narsai, Meg Knudtsen. Arizona State Goals: Kim Doll, Holly Newman, Sharleanna Richardson. Ejections: U-M 6, ASU 7.
| Game 2 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | F |
| Michigan | 2 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 5 |
| Hartwick | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 3 |
Scoring
Michigan Goals: Sheetal Narsai 2, Carly Strub, Vickie Brown, Megan Hausmann. Hartwick Goals: Bronwen Knox 2, Keri James. Ejections: U-M 4, Hartwick 7.
Q U O T E S
Michigan Head Coach Matt Anderson
On the weekend ... "There is nothing to complain about with going 4-1 against some very good teams that are ranked. There are no complaints except for maybe the game against UC Davis, but I think that may have woken us up a little."
On the difference today ... "We revamped the rotation and spread the minutes out a little more. The result was three outstanding games, including the match with Cal State-Bakersfield last night. I think the girls just realized the playing time is precious and that you can't waste it. With all the injuries we have had already this season, we have had to do a few different things and the girls have responded."
On the rematch with Hartwick ... "Hartwick may be a better team than they were last season. They brought in some new players and are bigger, stronger and faster than they were a year ago. I an extremely happy with the result we had against them, and if they are better than last year, maybe that means we are better than we were too."
On the weekend as a launching point for the remainder of the season ... "So far we have had nine games and in eight of them I have had no complaints. We still have some things to work on and it is still early in the season, but hopefully this will jump start us a little and give us some momentum. We just have to keep getting better."
N O T E S
Betsey Armstrong topped the 1,000-save mark in her career with 13 stops against Arizona State. In 102 career games, Armstrong has 1,014 career saves.
With 13 saves against Arizona State, Betsey Armstrong posted 10 or more saves in a game for the third time this season. Through 102 career games, Armstrong has made 10 or more saves in 55 games.
Shana Welch scored her second hat trick of the season with three goals against Arizona State. Welch set a Michigan career and season record last year with 12 hat tricks and now has 14 in her career.
Contact: Paul Dickerson (734) 763-4423
