Michigan
USC (ex)
Michigan Tops Hawaii to Highlight Day One at Collegiate Cup
11/7/2015 12:00:00 AM | Water Polo
» Michigan scored four in the fourth period to rally past Hawaii after falling to USC to open the day despite a shot and power-play advantage.
» Caroline Anderson tallied three goals and two assists in the two games, while Kimberly Graziano added two goals and one assist in the victory over Hawaii.
» Seven different players scored against Hawaii.
Site: Irvine, Calif. (William Woollett Jr. Aquatic Center)
Event: Collegiate Cup (Day 1)
Score: USC 11, Michigan 4 (exhibition); Michigan 9, Hawaii 7 (exhibition)
Next U-M Event: Sunday, Nov. 8 -- vs. UC Irvine at 11:30 a.m. PT and vs. Arizona State at 2:30 p.m. PT - Collegiate Cup Day 2 (Irvine, Calif.)
IRVINE, Calif. -- The University of Michigan water polo team saw its first competitive action of the 2015-16 season, playing two exhibition matches on Saturday (Nov. 7) at the Collegiate Cup at William Woollett Jr. Aquatic Center.
The Wolverines started the day with an 11-4 loss to USC, a team that finished third at the NCAA Championship last season. Michigan led in several stats categories, but the Trojans converted more scoring chances. The second game of the day for U-M was against Hawaii. Trailing in the fourth period, Michigan rallied for a 9-7 win over the Rainbow Wahine.
Game 1
In its first contest of the season, the final score did not tell the full story as Michigan outshot USC, 23-19, had three more power-play opportunities and forced six more turnovers. However, USC used a 5-0 run in the first half to change the game around.
The Trojans converted 11 of its 19 shots into goals, going 2-of-3 on power play chances and 2-of-2 on five-meter penalty shots. Michigan was unable to convert a high percentage of its scoring opportunities and was just 1-of-6 on power-play chances.
Sophomore Caroline Anderson led the way with two goals and one assist. She scored on a five-meter penalty shot in the second period. Senior captain Ali Thomason also had two goals, while fellow senior captain Kelly Martin had one assist.
Senior goalkeeper Julia Campbell entered the game early in the third period and made three saves while giving up just three goals.
USC was led by Brigitta Games, who scored four goals. The Trojans' goalkeeper Amanda Longan finished with nine saves.
Game 2
Entering the fourth period, the Wolverines were down, 6-5, to Hawaii. Freshman Delaney Cleveland won the sprint to give U-M the ball and 32 seconds later Martin evened the score at 6-6.
A little more than a minute later Cleveland gave Michigan the lead, converting a pass from sophomore Laura Jimenez on a power-play opportunity.
Hawaii quickly followed with a game-tying goal, but Michigan's defense held the Rainbow Wahine scoreless the rest of the way. Meanwhile, junior Kimberly Graziano notched her second goal of the game with 4:39 to go off an assist from Martin. Freshman Kim Johnson added a goal with 17 seconds to play to seal the victory.
The game was back and forth throughout the first half with the two teams recording three goals each. Hawaii came out strong in the third period with three straight goals, but Michigan gained momentum with 50 seconds in the third as sophomore Christina O'Beck converted a pass from Graziano to cut the lead to 6-5.
Senior goalkeeper Julia Campbell made five saves in the contest. It was a great game for the "Kims" as Graziano finished with two goals and one assist, and Johnson also scored twice.
GAME SUMMARIES
| By Period | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | F |
| Michigan | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 |
| USC | 3 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 11 |
U-M Goals: Ali Thomason 2, Caroline Anderson 2
USC Goals: Brigitta Games 4, Ioanna Haralabidis 2, Melissa Bergesen, Cara Borkovec, Brianna Daboub, Avery Peterson, Mackenzie Flath
Saves: U-M 4 (Julia Campbell 3, Emily Browning 1), USC 9 (Amanda Longan)
Ejections: U-M 5, USC 6
| By Period | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | F |
| Michigan | 2 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 9 |
| Hawai'i | 2 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 7 |
U-M Goals: Kimberly Graziano 2, Kim Johnson 2, Caroline Anderson, Kelly Martin, Christina O'Beck, Delaney Cleveland, Ali Thomason
Hawaii Goals: Femke Aan 2, Irene Gonzalez Lopez 2, Nikki-Marie Bell 2, Taylor Molde
Saves: U-M 5 (Julia Campbell), Hawaii 4 (Sarah Logan)
Ejections: U-M 6, Hawaii 12
QUOTES
Michigan Head Coach Dr. Marcelo Leonardi
On takeaways from the first day of competition for Team 16 ... "Our young players played well for their first experience against two top teams. We showed our depth a little bit. We put people in different roles, and we made progress from the first to second game."
On playing USC tough ... "We have closed the gap from where we were last year when we played them. We missed some shots that could have kept us in the game and failed to make enough saves."
On coming from behind against Hawaii ... "Huge. We did it with a young group. They showed resilience and maturity for a situation like that. We were able to pull off a really good win."
