Michigan
California
Fifth-Place Finish Big for Michigan
2/28/2016 12:00:00 AM | Water Polo
» The win over No. 3 Cal is just the second in 59 games for U-M against top-five teams.
» Michigan earned its first-ever win over California in eight meetings.
» Heidi Moreland scored the sudden-victory game-winner vs. No. 9 UC Irvine.
Site: Newport Beach, Calif. (Anteater Aquatics Center)
Event: UCI Invitational (Day 2)
Score: #7 Michigan 7, #3 Cal 5; #7 Michigan 8, #9 UC Irvine 7 (2OT)
Records: U-M (13-4), Cal (15-3), UCI (8-7)
Next U-M Event: Saturday, March 5 -- vs. Long Beach State - Wolverine Invite (Canham Natatorium), 12:40 p.m.
IRVINE, Calif. -- The No. 7-ranked University of Michigan water polo team had a huge day Sunday (Feb. 28) with wins over No. 3 Cal (7-5) and No. 9 UC Irvine (8-7) to finish fifth at the UCI Invitational at the Anteater Aquatics Center.
A fifth-place finish is big for the program as the UCI Invitational is stacked with all the top teams in the country and could help determine seeding for postseason.
"All of our wins this weekend were because of complete team effort," said junior Danielle Johnson. "Everybody contributed to help us pull out these incredible wins."
The win over No. 3 Cal was historic for the Wolverines as it was just the second victory over a top-five team in school history and first-ever win over Cal in eight meetings. In the 16 years of the program, U-M has played 59 games against top-five teams. The only other win over a top-five team was 11-10 in double overtime against No. 3 Hawaii at the Stanford Invitational in 2010.
"It is one of the biggest wins in our program history," said head coach Dr. Marcelo Leonardi. "We showed serious resiliency and learned how to play at a level we can't simulate in practice."
What was big after the victory was not letting up in the afternoon game against No. 9 UC Irvine. When the game looked to be over, Michigan got a steal and a goal with one second left to tie the game and force overtime. The Wolverines then won in sudden victory to give them five wins already in 2016 against top-10 opponents.
Game 1: Michigan 7, Cal 5
It is official. Michigan is among the top teams in the nation this year after beating No. 3 Cal to open Sunday. It did not come easy, but the Wolverines played a solid game defensively and won the power plays on both sides.
Michigan was out of sorts in the first quarter, going scoreless as Cal built a 2-0 lead with the help of a long heave at the end of the period that found its way into the corner of the goal.
Coming out of the huddle in the second, U-M went to work right away. Senior Ali Thomason won the sprint, and fellow senior Kelly Martin scored on the first possession. The next time down, Martin scored again to tie the game at 2-2. Cal scored once more in the period to make it 3-2 at halftime.
On the first possession of the third quarter, Michigan drew an exclusion and followed it up with a nice inside look for a goal by junior Allison Skaggs to tie the game. At the 3:48 mark, the Wolverines capitalized on another power play chance as sophomore Caroline Anderson found freshman Kim Johnson open at the back post for an easy score. Then Anderson tacked on a goal of her own as a birthday gift to herself to make it 5-3 heading into the final period.
Michigan made it a 5-0 run with goals by junior Heidi Moreland and Skaggs, leading 7-3 with four minutes to play. Cal would get two more goals, including a penalty shot late but the deficit was too much.
Team defense was key for the Wolverines. Not only did senior Julia Campbell have five saves, but the team also stopped Cal on all six of its power-play attempts with the exception of a five-meter penalty. U-M also had eight field blocks to limit the chances coming Campbell's way.
"Our 5-on-6 and our team defense was on today," said Leonardi. "We only allowed two goals in the second half. We were able to show composure in crunch time."
The offense was led by two goals each by Martin and Skaggs. Anderson finished with one goal and four assists.
"It is hard to describe the feeling," said Moreland. "Wow moments keep happening to us this year so keep pushing hard to make those wow moments keep coming."
Game 2: Michigan 8, UC Irvine 7
Final seconds winding down and Michigan had one last possession to tie the game. Thomason sent in a shot from deep that hits off the post. UC Irvine goalkeeper Annika Nelson went to collect the ball, and Moreland pressured after as well for U-M. Nelson corralled the ball and tried to clear, flipping it to a spot in front of the goal where Danielle Johnson was waiting to grab it and put it in the net with one second left in regulation to tie the game at 7-7.
"Heidi fought after the goalie threw it in my direction," said Johnson. "All of a sudden the ball was in my hand and then in the cage. It was total instinct."
The game went to overtime, and both teams played scoreless water polo through the two three-minute periods. On to sudden death. After both teams had one possession, Michigan drew an exclusion. The ball worked around the perimeter and to the side to Anderson. She saw an opening inside with Moreland. The pass went in, and Moreland flicked it in for the game-winner.
"All that was going through my mind was next goal wins," said Moreland. "I love being at the three-post. Caroline had the ball so I pushed off and got open. She hit me, and I just tried to shoot as quick and as hard as I could. I have never had a game-winner before."
Michigan struck first on a goal from its leading scorer Thomason. The senior received a pass on the right side of the goal from Kim Johnson and fired it to the upper left. After the first period the score was tied 1-1.
U-M started the second quarter with a quick goal as Martin fired one in from long range with the clock winding down. The Anteaters did not give up another goal in the period and took a 3-2 lead into the half after scoring on a penalty shot.
UC Irvine stretched the lead to 5-2 early in the third, but Michigan fought back. Just after a power play ended, Anderson found Thomason for her second goal of the game. The goal moved Thomason into fifth on Michigan's career scoring list. Then U-M made it 5-4 when it got out on a breakaway, and sophomore Laura Jimenez found Kim Johnson for a quick goal off the pass.
Martin came through with her second and third goals of the game to tie the score at 5-5 and cut it to 7-6 in the fourth quarter. It marks her fourth hat trick of the season. Campbell had eight saves overall, including four in overtime to come up big down the stretch.
The Wolverines will be at home next weekend as they host the Wolverine Invitational on Saturday and Sunday (March 5-6) at Canham Natatorium. Admission is free all weekend, which will see U-M play four games.
