Michigan
Indiana
Michigan Defeats Indiana to Win Western Division Title
4/23/2006 12:00:00 AM | Water Polo
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- The No. 17-ranked University of Michigan women's water polo team held on to a 4-3 lead into the final period of the Western Division Championship title game against the Indiana Hoosiers at Counsilman-Billingsley Aquatic Center on Sunday (April 23) to win the division championship for the fifth straight season.
The Wolverines struck first when Julie Hyrne (Sunnyvale, Calif./Archbishop Mitty) fed Shana Welch (Larksville, Pa./Wyoming West Valley) in the post two minutes into the contest. Welch received the pass and all in one motion ripped home a no-look backhand to put Michigan up 1-0.
Kristen Davis (Villa Park, Calif./Villa Park) made one of her five stellar saves in the game with one minute remaining in the first frame, which allowed the Wolverines to score on their next offensive possession. Kristin Hoogenboom (Portland, Ore./Sunset) received a pass in the right post and fired a shot home to move the lead to 2-0.
The Hoosiers scored late in the first on the power play, and, unable to convert on a 6-on-5 chance with 15 seconds remaining, Michigan entered the second up 2-1.
After a Michigan ejection, Davis came up huge again, deflecting a skip shot over the net to keep the Wolverines in the lead. Hyrne then increased the lead to two again midway through the second when she buried a shot from the outside.
Indiana snuck a shot past Davis with 2:41 remaining in the second frame to make it 3-2 and had a chance to tie with two late power-play chances, but two Wolverine field blocks kept the lead intact, 3-2, at the halftime buzzer.
Michigan earned two 6-on-5 opportunities to begin the second half and failed to score on both, but Megan Hausmann (San Diego, Calif./Bishop's) netted a four-meter penalty shot goal at the end of the second man-advantage to give the Wolverines a 4-2 lead two minutes into the third.
Davis stoned Indiana on its first 6-on-5 chance of the third, but the Hoosiers tallied a goal on their next offensive possession to cut the lead to 4-3 and Michigan entered the final period of the championship contest up by one score.
Mary Chatigny (Palm Springs, Calif./Palm Springs) had the first good scoring chance of the fourth but her shot hit the crossbar. Wesley Ellison (Portola Valley, Calif./Palo Alto) nearly put U-M up two again but her shot did not completely cross the goal line.
Indiana earned three straight offensive possessions in the four-minute mark of the fourth, but Michigan was equal to the task in securing the lead. After back-and-forth play, the Hoosiers had one final possession to tie with 35 ticks left, but Kelsey Haley (Portola Valley, Calif./Menio) and Carrie Frost (Saline, Mich./Saline) combined for the steal down low and Michigan ran out the clock for the 4-3 win to beat Indiana in the Division title game for the fourth straight season.
The Wolverines will next look to reach the NCAA Championship for the second straight season as they travel to Providence, R.I., for the Eastern Championship (Friday through Sunday, April 28-30) at the Smith Swim Center.
GAME SUMMARY
| By Periods | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | F |
| Michigan | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4 |
| Indiana | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 |
Scoring
U-M Goals: Julie Hyrne, Megan Hausmann, Shana Welch, Kristin Hoogenboom. IU Goals: Brooke Zimmerman 2, Melissa Soria. Ejections: U-M 3, IU 5.
Contact: Matt Baumer (734) 763-4423
