Michigan
USC
Michigan Falls to No. 1 USC in NCAA Semifinal
5/14/2016 12:00:00 AM | Water Polo
» Michigan's 14-game winning streak came to an end.
» Senior Ali Thomason netted a hat trick to lead the Wolverines.
» U-M will play the loser of Stanford-UCLA in the NCAA third-place game on Sunday (May 15) at 3:30 p.m. PDT.
Site: Los Angeles, Calif. (Spieker Aquatics Center)
Event: NCAA Tournament Semifinals
Score: #1 USC 9, #4 Michigan 6
Records: U-M (30-7), USC (25-0)
Next U-M Event: Sunday, May 15 -- vs. UCLA - NCAA Third-Place Game (Los Angeles, Calif.), 3:30 p.m. PDT
LOS ANGELES, Calif. -- The No. 4-ranked University of Michigan water polo team gave No. 1 USC all it could handle, but the Trojans stayed undefeated with a 9-6 victory in the NCAA semifinal on Saturday (May 14) at Spieker Aquatics Center.
The Wolverines fell behind by two goals in the first 1:38 of the game. At that point the game could have either turned in to a blowout or Michigan could fight back. Just as it has done all year long, U-M put up a fight. Michigan solidified its defense, not allowing another goal for more than 12 minutes after that.
Senior Ali Thomason cut the lead to 2-1 in the first quarter with a laser shot from eight meters outs into the left side of the goal. Then in the second quarter with U-M down 3-1, Thomason made a great steal in the center of the pool, sped out on a breakaway and executed a perfect pass to her fellow captain and senior Kelly Martin for the goal to make it 3-2 at halftime.
Perhaps nobody except Michigan team and its fans expected the Wolverines to be down by only one goal at the half against an undefeated and No. 1-ranked Trojans squad. It proves how far the team has come in just two years under Dr. Marcelo Leonardi.
After a defensive first half, the two teams opened up the scoring in the third quarter with USC scoring five goals and Michigan three. The Trojans worked the ball around and created advantages on the Wolverines, but U-M kept fighting. Sophomore Caroline Anderson made a drive, and Martin placed the ball perfectly in front of her so she could push it into the goal. Thomason got her second goal of the game on a 6-on-5 placing it top right. Then with five seconds left in the period, freshman Amy Ridge sent one in from near mid-pool, and it hit off the goalie's hands and in.
Up three goals heading into the final period, USC went to a stall offense, running shot clock down and shooting late to limit possessions. The period was scoreless until the Trojans added a goal with 51 seconds left. Thomason then converted a penalty shot with 36 seconds to go to give her a hat trick and make the final score 9-6.
Thomason's hat trick is her 18th of the season and extends her single-season school record to 94 goals on the year. She also had an assist and three steals in the game. Anderson and Martin each had one goal and one assist, while Anderson added three steals of her own. Senior goalkeeper Julia Campbell made six saves.
Michigan will play No. 3 UCLA in the NCAA third-place game on Sunday (May 15) at 3:30 p.m. PDT.
Postgame Quotes
Michigan Head Coach Dr. Marcelo Leonardi
Opening statement ... "I want to start off by saying that I am proud of my team. I thought they competed today and they represented the University. I couldn't be more proud of them for what they accomplished."
On the game plan facing the No. 1 team in the country ... "I took a look at their personnel. I felt that Stephania (Haralabidis) and Brigitta (Games) were their two big players that I felt we needed to control. One of our strategies was to attack both on the offensive end because they are so offensive minded. We also had to prepare for their depth, which I felt there were times we had to slow down the game in order to do that, which I felt we were able to slow down at times, to neutralize their counterattack."
U-M Senior Ali Thomason
On what was working well in the first half and what changed ... "Controlling our defense. Playing team defense and being aware. On the offensive end, it was slowing down and using the whole clock and reading who was open and who was not, what they are doing on defense and finding the open person."
