Michigan
UC San Diego
Wolverines Split Final Games at UCSB Winter Invite
1/25/2015 12:00:00 AM | Water Polo
Jan. 25, 2015
• Notes & Quotes
• Photo Galleries: UC San Diego 
| CSU Bakersfield
Site: Santa Barbara, Calif. (Recreation Center)
Event: UCSB Winter Invitational (Day 3 of 3)
Score: #13 UC San Diego 9, #17 Michigan 5; #17 Michigan 13, CSU Bakersfield 2
Records: U-M (2-3), UCSD (1-2), CSUB (1-6)
Next U-M Event: Fri-Sat., Feb. 7-8 -- at Triton Invitational (San Diego, Calif.), TBA
SANTA BARBARA, Calif. -- The No. 17-ranked University of Michigan water polo team split its final two games at the season-opening UCSB Winter Invitational, falling to No. 13 UC San Diego, 9-5, before closing out the weekend with a 13-2 win over CSU Bakersfield on Sunday afternoon (Jan. 25) at UC Santa Barbara's Recreation Center.
Junior Ali Thomason headlined the Wolverines' offensive effort, posting five goals on the day, including a hat trick against CSU Bakersfield, and three assists. Sophomore Allison Skaggs also scored in both games, netting two in the second, while junior Presley Pender and senior Elizabeth Williams also netted two apiece against the Road Runners. Nine different Wolverines scored goals in the tournament finale.
Sophomore Emily Browning and junior Julia Campbell both recorded complete-game performances in the Wolverine goal. Browning registered seven saves in U-M's loss to UCSD, while Campbell boasted a career-best 14 saves against CSU Bakersfield -- while only allowing two goals. Campbell also posted a pair of assists.
After only scoring one goal in the first quarter against CSU Bakersfield, the Wolverines surged in the second, scoring four goals, including a pair on 6-on-5 opportunities in the opening minutes, to build up a sizable halftime advantage. Among U-M's first-half tallies, sophomore Jamie Nolan registered her first of the season with Michigan's opening goal in the opening quarter.
The Wolverines continued to build their lead in the third quarter with a pair of unanswered goals on back-to-back possessions midway through the frame. Sophomore Heidi Moreland buried the latter, at the quarter's 4:45 mark, for her first goal of the season. Assisting the goal was freshman Addi Halligan, who earned her first collegiate helper on the play.
CSU Bakersfield opened scoring early in the fourth, but the Wolverines closed out the game with six goals, including five unanswered and two from Skaggs and one apiece from freshmen Caroline Anderson and Laura Jimenez. It was Jimenez's first collegiate goal.
Michigan stayed close with UC San Diego in the morning contest, trailing by just one after three quarters, until the Tritons surged with four goals in the final frame. Thomason earned her first hat trick of the season, scoring U-M's first goal -- a game-tying tally -- midway through second quarter and adding one apiece in the second and third.
The Wolverines will return to action in two weeks, heading to San Diego, California, for the annual Triton Invitational on Friday and Saturday, Feb. 7-8. Michigan's tournament slate will be announced after it is finalized.
GAME SUMMARIES
| By Period | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | F |
| Michigan (1-3) | 0 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 5 |
| UC San Diego (1-2) | 1 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 9 |
UCSD Goals: Alexis Wieseler 4, Laurel Kistler 3, Emma Sasson, Julia Kirkland
Saves: U-M 7 (Emily Browning), UCSB 11 (Courtney Miller)
Ejections: U-M 9, UCSD 4
U-M Goals: Elizabeth Williams 2, Presley Pender 2, Allison Skaggs 2, Ali Thomason 2, Jamie Nolan, Kelly Martin, Heidi Moreland, Caroline Anderson, Laura Jimenez
CSUB Goals: Tancy Aldridge, Janelle Shelby
Saves: U-M 14 (Julia Campbell), CSUB N/A (Brittany Tyra)
Ejections: U-M 10, CSUB 9
N O T E S
• With today's outcomes, Michigan fell to 12-8 in the all-time series against UC San Diego and improved to 6-0 against CSU Bakersfield.
• Ten different Wolverines scored goals over the season-opening UCSB Winter Invitational.
• Junior Ali Thomason owns eight career hat tricks.
• Junior goalkeeper Julia Campbell earned a career-best 14 saves against CSU Bakersfield. Her previous best was 13, which she recorded last season against Gannon.
• With two helpers against CSUB, Campbell upped her career assist total to 22.
• Freshmen Caroline Anderson and Laura Jimenez both recorded their first collegiate goals over the weekend, while Anderson, Jimenez and freshman Addi Halligan all earned their first collegiate assists.
Q U O T E S
Michigan Head Coach Dr. Marcelo Leonardi
On the morning loss to UC San Diego ... "It showed me that we're still young in terms of consistency. We were able to play three ranked opponents -- and we did really well -- but that was our fourth team in three days and that's a lot of water polo. Our fitness was tested, our bodies were tested, and at this level in order to compete and win those games, you have got to show consistency. All the elite programs show that level of consistency. We were able to rebound, and I thought we played exceptionally well against Bakersfield, a team that, just last night, beat UC San Diego. We were happy with that."
On the number of goal scorers against CSU Bakersfield ... "I was really glad to see that. I also went with a different lineup in the Bakersfield game, and I felt that it gave us a push in the second and third quarters. Our shot selection and confidence was a lot better in the second game than in the first. You can see that in the results. Julia [Campbell] also played fantastic in the cage. She really set the tone after that loss this morning."
On the goalkeepers ... "They're both playing games. I'm trying to identify our No. 1 goalie going forward. Right now, I really can't say who's No.1, because they haven't been able to piece together four good, quality quarters by themselves. Julia was the first that was able to piece together four quarters against Bakersfield. I'd like to see that on a more consistent basis. But I won't be able to identify that No. 1 goalie for another 10-15 games."
On the freshman contribution ... "It's awesome when you can get 1-2 freshmen who can contribute at a significant level at a Division I program. They're soaking up the experience and game situation faster than having to wait 2-3 years to play. With that said, it also gives them a chance to make mistakes early on in their career, and we can develop a strong foundation moving forward. Laura [Jimenez] scored her first goal today, Caroline [Anderson] has been contributing heavy minutes and producing, and [Elissa] Arnold has been doing a great job at two meters. I'm excited for our future."
On his takeaways from this weekend ... "I feel that, defensively, we're becoming one unit and are really understanding what we're trying to do tactically game to game, adjustment to adjustment. Offensively, when teams take certain things away from us, understanding what we're supposed to do, or when they adjust, how we want to counter adjust. Moving forward, we just need more work on both sides of the pool -- more games and more situations that put us in those moments where decisions have to be made. We're going to fail a couple of times, but with that, we're going to have success and learn from those experiences. I want to see those situations so often that they become second nature, and at the critical moments, when we start peaking, I hope it emerges and we play our best."
U-M Junior Ali Thomason
On the Wolverines' tournament ... "This was the first tournament of our season with a new coach and a new system. We went in not quite knowing what our expectations were. Every single game, we learned from it. Win or loss, we took something from it. I think that's so important, because now we take away aspects from this weekend and continue to grow and build on. In two weeks, when we compete again, we expect to do better."
On her goal scoring ... "I'm trying to take advantage of my opportunities. I think this year we have a much broader spectrum of people with opportunities to score. I'm getting looks but so are a lot of other girls. That's really important."
Communications Contact: Leah Howard (734) 763-4423
