Michigan
Maryland
U-M Outduels No. 19 Maryland, Advances to CWPA Title Game
4/30/2011 12:00:00 AM | Water Polo
Site: Bloomington, Ind. (Counsilman-Billingsley Aquatic Center)
Event: CWPA Eastern Championship (Semifinals)
Scores: #6 Michigan 11, #19 Maryland 6
Records: U-M (32-4), Maryland (18-14)
Next U-M Event: Sunday, May 1 -- at Indiana - CWPA Eastern Championship (Bloomington, Ind.), 3 p.m.
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- The No. 6-ranked University of Michigan water polo team punched its ticket to the conference title game with an 11-6 victory over No. 19-ranked Maryland on Saturday (April 30) in the first semifinal of the CWPA Eastern Championship at the Counsilman-Billingsley Aquatic Center.
Sophomore Alex Adamson (Coronado, Calif./Coronado) sparkled in the cage, making six saves -- five coming on the penalty kill -- and tallying three assists.
Sophomore Lauren Colton (Tustin, Calif./Tesoro) and senior Alison Mantel (Miami, Fla./Gulliver) paced the U-M offense with four points apiece. Colton found the back of the cage three times and tallied an assist. Meanwhile, Mantel tallied a goal, three assists and added two steals.
Michigan junior captain Meagan Cobb (Hudsonville, Mich./Hudsonville) set the pace quickly, scoring twice in the first two minutes of the contest from the two-meter set. Maryland answered, punctuated by an off-speed shot from the point by senior Keller Felt (La Jolla, Calif./La Jolla) to knot the game at 3-3 after one period. The Wolverines controlled the second period, scoring a goal early and locking down on defense. The Maize and Blue lead swelled to 6-3 at the break as Colton scored on consecutive trips down the pool.
Michigan put the game away in the third period, converting three strong plays in the defensive zone into counter-attack goals. Adamson turned a short-handed save into a quick breakout, finding Felt streaking down the left side with a clear path to the net. Thirty seconds after Felt's goal, Adamson took a pass off a U-M steal and sent Colton on a two-on-one, where she skipped a short shot past the Terrapin netminder. Maryland sandwiched a pair of markers around a Mantel counter-attack goal to set up a 9-5 advantage for the Wolverines with one period to play.
The first half of the final period hit a fevered pace right off the opening sprint. Maryland was turned aside 45 seconds into the period after a Michigan kickout created a breakaway opportunity. Adamson answered the bell, coming out of the water to knock down the attempt. Michigan scored twice more in the frame and Adamson once again made a sprawling save late to help the Wolverines cruise to victory.
Michigan will make the final push for its fourth consecutive CWPA Eastern Championship title tomorrow (Sunday, May 1) against No. 3 seed Indiana at 3 p.m. in the conference title game in Bloomington, Ind.
GAME SUMMARY
| By Period | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | F |
| Maryland | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 6 |
| Michigan | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 11 |
U-M Goals: Lauren Colton 3, Meagan Cobb 2, Keller Felt 2, Kiki Golden 2, Kelsey Nolan, Alison Mantel.
MD Goals: Ally Beck 2, Allison Campbell 2, Maddie Murphy, Katie Ermakova.
Saves: U-M 6 (Alex Adamson), MD 13 (Shelby Reyes)
Exclusions: U-M 17, MD 7
NOTES
• Michigan advances to the CWPA Eastern Championship title game for the eighth time. The Wolverines won in 2002, 2005, 2008, 2009 and 2010 and finished runner-up in 2004 and 2006.
• The Wolverines improved to 11-0 all-time against Maryland. The Wolverines won all three meetings between the two schools this season.
• With an assist today, senior Lauren Orth extended her point streak to 42 games, the second longest in program history. During the span, which dates back to last season, Orth has tallied 57 goals and 44 assists.
• With six saves, Alex Adamson became the fourth goaltender in program history to amass 300 career stops. Adamson enters tomorrow's championship game with 304 blocks.
• Adamson improved to 22-2 on the season, matching Betsey Armstrong in 2002 and 2004 and Kristen Davis in 2007 for fourth most on the U-M single-season list.
QUOTES
Michigan Head Coach Matt Anderson
On making the finals ... "Regardless of who we are playing, we want to be in the final game of the year that means something -- and that is what we are doing. No matter who our opponent is, our goal every year is to make it to the Eastern finals. It is a great testament to these seniors to do it four years in a row, but we aren't done yet."
On the play of Alex Adamson ... "Alex Adamson was on fire. Her best attribute is passing and every pass she made, even the ones that were not successful today, were spot on. Alex is a big time player, I never have to worry about (her) stepping up."
U-M Sophomore Alex Adamson
On being the three-time defending champions ... "You come to Michigan with an understanding that the Block 'M' is the biggest target you can wear in sports. We wear it on our chest everyday and we are proud to wear it. We want to have that target (on our back). We are proud to wear it and we want to win in it."
On the Michigan penalty kill ... "I think in that game that our defense played so hard and was constantly putting pressure on (Maryland), that it felt like that was almost rest time for Maryland. Instead of attacking, they were exhausted because our girls had been working them so hard up and down the pool. I think it ended up being 17 ejections against us, but they were only able to convert on a handful because the girls played really well."
U-M Junior Meagan Cobb
On being the three-time defending champions ... "We don't go in thinking about what other teams think of us. We try and go in and do our best and play the same game, every game, no matter whom we are playing. While we do have a target on our back, we are aware of it, but at the same time we are trying not to think about it."
On having 17 kickouts ... "Kickouts are something that we can't control. Sometimes the refs will be on our side and sometimes not necessarily. We just try to go out and control what we can control and continue playing our game through whatever we can't control."
On scoring two early goals ... "It is an honor, but it is a team effort at the same time. Without a perfect assist, I cannot score a goal. It was definitely a team effort and that has been the theme of this season."
