Michigan
Loyola Marymount
Wolverines' Upset Bid Over No. 7 LMU Falls Short
2/22/2007 12:00:00 AM | Water Polo
LOS ANGELES, Calif. -- The No. 16-ranked University of Michigan women's water polo team fell to No. 7 Loyola Marymount 9-7 Saturday afternoon (Feb. 22) at Burns Aquatic Center. On a chilly and rainy afternoon, the Wolverines stayed with the highly-touted Lions, but could not complete the comeback despite controlling the final half of play.
Senior Shana Welch (Larksville, Pa./Wyoming Valley West) and sophomore Julie Hyrne (Sunnyvale, Calif./Archbishop Mitty) both extended their streaks of scoring in every contest this season; Welch tallied a goal, and Hyrne scored a team-high two goals.
After winning the opening sprint, Welch carried the ball into the offensive zone and lofted a shot into the cage to put U-M ahead, 1-0. The Lions tied the score two possessions later, and on the next possession, Hyrne got on the board on the power play to help Michigan regain the lead, 2-1, halfway through the first. Freshman Logan Bjorkman (Danville, Calif./San Ramon Valley) answered a pair LMU scores late in the period, and the Wolverines went into the second tied, 3-3.
The Lions went up 4-3 on the power play to begin the second frame. The Wolverines then received two 6-on-5 chances, but could not convert on either, and LMU took advantage, scoring twice in the final two minutes to take a 6-3 lead into halftime.
The Wolverines yielded two more LMU tallies to begin the third before U-M began a furious comeback out of a timeout. Hyrne cut the deficit to 8-4 midway through the third, and sophomores Carrie Frost (Saline, Mich./Saline) and Mary Chatigny (Palm Springs, Calif./Palm Springs) followed on brilliant skip shots to bring the score to 8-6. The Lions scored with just nine second remaining, however, ending the Michigan comeback attempt.
Freshman Leah Robertson (Newport Beach, Calif./Newport Harbor) tallied the only goal of the final period on one of three 6-on-5 opportunities for the Wolverines, and Michigan found itself on the losing end of a 9-7 decision.
After a day off tomorrow, Michigan will compete in the Anteater Invitational (Feb. 24-25), hosted by UC Irvine. U-M is pitted against No. 3 Stanford in the first round of the tournament on Saturday at 11:30 a.m. PST. A Wolverine win will place them in a 4:30 p.m. PST match against the winner of San Jose State/Arizona State. A U-M loss will put the Wolverines in a 5:45 p.m. PST match against the loser of the San Jose State/Arizona State contest. All of Michigan's Saturday action will take place at Corona del Mar High School, with the Championship round being played on Sunday at either the Anteater Aquatic Center or Corona de Mar High School.
GAME SUMMARY
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | F |
| Michigan | 3 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 7 |
| Loyola Marymount | 3 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 9 |
Scoring
U-M Goals: Julie Hyrne 2, Logan Bjorkman, Shana Welch, Carrie Frost, Mary Chatigny, Leah Robertson.
LMU Goals: Stacia Peterson 4, Katie Hicks, Doza Szabolcsi, Alexandra Wike, Sarah Hamilton, Cara Colton.
U-M Goalkeeper: Kristen Davis (5 saves, 2 steals).
Ejections: U-M 9, LMU 8.
Q U O T E S
On today's game ... "The team's performance was 100-percent better than the weather. Today's conditions were terrible to play in, from the win to the rain and how cold it was. It wasn't fun coaching in that weather so I can imagine it wasn't fun to play in that weather. We played well and it was there for the taking. We had two fantastic opportunities that we created that we were unlucky on. LMU got up by a couple and we then pushed the pace and controlled the game from there on. But unfortunately, we left some balls on the goal line and a couple of shots hit the bar. And their goalie made one or two very nice saves that most goalies wouldn't have stopped. That is the reason why LMU is one of the better teams in the country."
On the goals for this West Coast trip ... "We are extremely young -- one of the youngest teams in the nation. We are playing better as the year goes on and we should only continue to play better. Today we created the opportunities and now we have to finish better. When we begin to finish, then we are going to have the look of an experienced team. This weekend is to help us continue to take steps to where we want to go."
Contact: Matt Baumer (734) 763-4423
