Michigan
Cal State-Northridge
Wolverines Split on Day One of Triton Invitational
2/10/2007 12:00:00 AM | Water Polo
SAN DIEGO, Calif. -- The No. 13-ranked University of Michigan women's water polo team defeated Cal State Northridge 6-4 and lost to No. 9 UC Davis 13-6 Saturday (Feb. 10) on the first day of the Triton Invitational in Canyonview Aquatics Center. Senior Shana Welch (Larksville, Pa./Wyoming Valley West) led all goal scorers on the day with a pair in each contest, and freshman Leah Robertson (Newport Beach, Calif./Newport Harbor) tallied a total of 11 steals in two games. Sophomore goalkeeper Kristen Davis (Villa Park, Calif./Villa Park) knocked away five shots against CSUN and six against UC Davis.
Despite converting one out of 11 power plays, the Wolverines handily scored the two-goal victory over the Matadors. Robertson and Welch both had five steals in the contest.
Due to sloppy play on numerous scoring chances, U-M went into the half tied 2-2. Robertson scored in the first and Welch netted Michigan's second marker on a breakaway before halftime.
The Maize and Blue stormed out of the gates in the second half, reeling off three unanswered goals to pull ahead 5-2 midway through the fourth. Sophomore Julie Hyrne (Sunnyvale, Calif./Archbishop Mitty) sparked the three-goal run on a rocket and Welch and sophomore Sharayah Hernandez (Pico Rivera, Calif./El Rancho) followed with markers, putting Michigan up. Cal State Northridge tallied two late power-play goals, but the Wolverine defense squelched any comeback opportunity and went onto the 6-4 win to earn an evening match up with No. 9 UC Davis.
The Wolverines had trouble on the power play again in the evening, going 2-for-9 in the loss to the ninth-ranked Aggies. Robertson, who had six steals, and Welch, who had three steals, shined on the defensive end but not enough to stop a hot-shooting opponent.
UC Davis jumped to a 4-2 lead in the first. Welch kept Michigan in it with a backhand shot late in the first frame. The Wolverines fell further behind in the second period. Hernandez netted a marker to begin the half, but UC Davis scored three times in the middle of the period and went into the half up 7-3.
Michigan had a chance to stay in contention in the second half, but failed on two power-play chances on its first two possessions. After a UC Davis score, the Wolverines finally got on the board again on nice cross-cage passing as Hyrne and sophomore Carrie Frost (Saline, Mich./Saline) both converted. UC Davis was able to answer, however, and carried a 9-5 lead into the final stanza.
The Wolverines could only muster up a breakaway score from Welch in the fourth as the Aggies' defense stifled any Maize and Blue rally, and Michigan found itself on the losing end of a 13-6 decision.
Michigan returns to Canyonview Pool Sunday (Feb. 11) for the Championship Round of the Triton Invitational. The Wolverines take on UC Santa Barbara at Canyonview West Pool at 9:15 a.m. A Wolverine win places them in the fifth-place game at 2:15 p.m. PST against the winner of the UC San Diego vs. Hartwick match; a U-M loss sends the Maize and Blue to the seventh-place match at 1 p.m. PST against the loser of the UC San Diego vs. Hartwick contest.
GAME SUMMARIES
| Game 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | F |
| No. 13 Michigan | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 6 |
| Cal State Northridge | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 4 |
Scoring
U-M Goals: Shana Welch 2, Sharayah Hernandez 2, Leah Robertson, Julie Hyrne. CSUN: Dayna Van Gorder 2, Christine Cruz, Allison Brookes.
Ejections: U-M 7, CSUN 11.
U-M Goalkeeper: (Davis) Five saves, One steal
| Game 2 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | F |
| No. 9 UC Davis | 4 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 13 |
| No. 13 Michigan | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 6 |
Scoring
U-M Goals: Shana Welch 2, Carrie Frost, Leah Robertson, Julie Hyrne, Sharayah Hernandez.
Ejections: U-M 5, UCD 9
U-M Goalkeeper: (Davis) Six Saves, One steal
N O T E S
U-M improved to 3-0 all-time against CSUN and fell to .500 (4-4) against UC Davis all-time.
Senior Shana Welch and sophomore Julie Hyrne have scored in all of Michigan's six games this season.
Freshman Leah Robertson scored a goal in both games today to increase her goal streak to five games.
Sophomore Kristen Davis notched two steals today to reach 50 for her career.
Sophomore Carrie Frost went over 100 shots for her career.
Q U O T E S
Head Coach Matt Anderson
On game against Cal State Northridge ... "In the first game, our conditioning allowed us to explode in the third. We shut down Northridge on defense and didn't allow any natural goals, which was nice. I was very happy with our defense. Their last goal came with four seconds left and their first goal came on a deflection off one of our defenders so I thought we played well defensively. We also countered all game. Our only problem was our 1-for-11 on our 6-on-5 opportunities and that is a tough way to win a game. I cannot ever recall being on the winning end of a game where we went 1-for-11 on the power play. Overall, we countered well and played well defensively, unfortunately, we did not finish some of our chances which is what we need to start doing."
On the match against UC Davis ... "It was the same story against UC Davis, we were 2-for-9 on our 6-on-5. And that is the reason why they pulled away. Against a good team, when you are given power-play chances, you have to convert hopefully 50-percent of the time. It was 7-4 in the third and on the first two possessions we drew kickouts and had wide-open looks on the 6-on-5, but we did not score. If we had made it 7-6 in the third period, it is possibly a different ball game. But UC Davis played well and they are a good enough team that they made us pay for the mistakes we made."
Contact: Matt Baumer (734) 763-4423
