Michigan
San Diego State
U-M Goes Perfect on First Day of Michigan Invite
1/30/2016 12:00:00 AM | Water Polo
» Michigan prevailed over SDSU and Marist to improve to 3-0 at home over the last two seasons.
» Senior Ali Thomason scored eight goals on the day, with four in each game, while freshman Anna Edgington made her college debut.
» U-M has scored 10 or more goals in six of the seven games this year.
Site: Ann Arbor, Mich. (Canham Natatorium)
Event: Michigan Invitational (Day 1)
Records: Michigan (5-2), San Diego State (1-1), Marist (0-2)
Score: #7 Michigan 12, #15 San Diego State 9; #7 Michigan 16, Marist 6
Next U-M Event: Sunday, Jan. 31 --vs. No. 11 UCSB (9:40 a.m.) and No. 12 Pacific (5 p.m.) - Michigan Invitational (Canham Natatorium)
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- After playing just one home game in Dr. Marcelo Leonardi's first year at Michigan, the No. 7-ranked University of Michigan water polo team opened the Michigan Invitational with two victories on Saturday (Jan. 30), topping San Diego State, 12-4, and walloping Marist, 16-6, inside Canham Natatorium.
"It has been a long time since we have been able to play at home, so just being able to host and get two W's is pretty exciting," said Leonardi. "It helps us build on what we were trying to accomplish last weekend in Santa Barbara."
It was another big day for the offense, which has clicked early on this year. Senior Ali Thomason continued where she left off last weekend, scoring four goals in each of the two games to give her 23 over her last five contests.
Defensively the team got better as the day went on. In the second game against Marist, senior goalkeeper Julia Campbell only allowed four goals in three quarters. She had 17 saves on the day.
In two games, the Wolverines scored 28 goals to give them 10 or more in six of the seven games this year.
"We wanted to set the tone for the weekend," said junior Allison Skaggs. "Our two wins today give us good momentum heading into two tough games tomorrow."
Game 1: Michigan 12, San Diego State 9
Thomason and sophomore Caroline Anderson each had big games for Michigan to help the Wolverines take down No. 15 San Diego State.
Thomason scored the first two U-M goals of the game and recorded a hat trick in the first half. She added one more goal with 44 seconds left to seal the win and give her four goals on the day. She also had two assists and three steals and won all four sprints to lead Michigan. Anderson also recorded a hat trick to go along with two assists and one steal.
Michigan never trailed in the contest and doubled up San Diego State in the first half, 8-4. The Aztecs came out of halftime on a mission and outscored U-M 3-0 to make it 8-7 heading into the final quarter.
Leonardi regrouped his team with a little less than a minute into the fourth. Early on, junior Danielle Johnson took a pass from senior Kelly Martin and converted it -- the first of three straight goals over the first three minutes of the fourth quarter, helping put the game out of reach.
"It showed we were able to withstand the storm and that we were mature enough to rise to the occasion and jump back up on them," said Leonardi.
Campbell put up 10 saves for her second double-digit save performance of the year.
With a goal at the 7:05 mark of the second period, Skaggs reached 100 career points. She added another goal and an assist in the game.
Game 2: Michigan 16, Marist 6
The best thing about the second game of the day was all field players on the roster saw playing time.
"It was awesome for everyone to get a chance to hit the water in our home debut," said Skaggs. "It shows how deep we are and that everyone can play and kill it."
Freshman Anna Edgington from San Carlos, California, made her college debut in the game.
Another bright spot was Ann Arbor native Kimberly Graziano scoring two goals in front of her hometown crowd.
Michigan only had a one-goal lead after the first quarter but came out and outscored, Marist 9-2, in the second and third quarters to put the game away.
Thomason added five more points with four goals and an assist to give her 27 goals and 32 points already this season.
Freshman Kim Johnson posted her fourth hat trick already this season while adding two assists in the game. Skaggs and Martin each added two goals, while sophomore Sydney Groot tallied her first score of the year.
Michigan will complete its weekend with the second day of the Michigan Invitational tomorrow (Sunday, Jan. 31) at Canham Natatorium with games against No. 11 UCSB at 9:40 a.m. and No. 12 Pacific at 5 p.m.
GAME SUMMARIES
| By Period | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | F |
| Michigan | 3 | 5 | 0 | 4 | 12 |
| San Diego State | 2 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 9 |
U-M Goals: Ali Thomason 4, Caroline Anderson 3, Allison Skaggs 2, Danielle Johnson, Laura Jimenez, Kim Johnson
SDSU Goals: Ioli Benekou 3, Taylor Gums 3, Tayla Walsh, Nikole Ferrari, Hannah Carrillo
Saves: U-M 10 (Julia Campbell), SDSU 13 (Rachel Mitchell)
Ejections: U-M 10, SDSU 8
| By Period | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | F |
| Michigan | 3 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 16 |
| Marist | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 6 |
U-M Goals: Ali Thomason 4, Kim Johnson 3, Kimberly Graziano 2, Kelly Martin 2, Allison Skaggs 2, Caroline Anderson, Sydney Groot, Julia Sellers
Marist Goals: Amanda Amorosa 4, Katie Tijerina, Nastassia McGlothlin
Saves: U-M 10 (Julia Campbell 7, Katherine Moore 3), Marist 6 (Skyler Henry 3, Jessica Hermosillo 3)
Ejections: U-M 9, Marist 7
