Michigan
Marist
Michigan Advances to Triton Invitational Semifinals
2/11/2017 12:00:00 AM | Water Polo
» Michigan advanced to the semifinals to play No. 2 USC on Sunday (Feb. 12).
» The Wolverines allowed only six goals in two games combined.
» Freshmen Alex Corbett and Genevieve Curry made their collegiate debuts.
Site: La Jolla, Calif. (Canyonview Aquatic Center)
Event: Triton Invitational (Day 1)
Scores: #6 Michigan 17, #23 Marist 4; #6 Michigan 7, #9 UCSB 2
Records: U-M (8-3), Marist (3-5), UCSB (6-4)
Next U-M Event: Sunday, Feb. 12 -- vs. USC - Triton Invitational (La Jolla, Calif), 11:10 a.m. PST
LA JOLLA, Calif. -- With wins over No. 23 Marist (17-4) and No. 9 UCSB (7-2), the No. 6-ranked University of Michigan water polo team advanced to the semifinals of the Triton Invitational on Saturday (Feb. 11).
Defense was the name of the game as U-M allowed only six total goals in the two games combined. It was a dominating performance for the Wolverines as they did not allow a goal in the first or third quarters of either game.
The two victories guaranteed the Wolverines a top-four finish in the tournament. Michigan will play No. 2 USC in the semifinals tomorrow (Sunday, Feb. 12) at 11:10 a.m. PST. Michigan is 0-20 all-time against No. 1- No. 2-ranked teams and is 0-10 against the Trojans, including an 11-3 loss to start this season.
Game 1: No. 6 Michigan 17, No. 23 Marist 4
In the first game of the weekend, Michigan's offense exploded for 17 goals, the second-highest total through the first 10 games of the year. Ten different players scored a goal for the Wolverines as they racked up six goals in both the second and fourth periods.
Junior Caroline Anderson led the team with four goals and two assists. Senior Danielle Johnson had her second hat trick of the year to go with one assist.
Freshman Alex Corbett made her collegiate debut in the first period and finished with two goals. Fellow freshman Genevieve Curry also made her collegiate debut in the second quarter. Freshman Skyler Pyle scored her first collegiate goal in the game as well.
U-M's defense also had a stellar performance. The Wolverines held Marist scoreless for the first 12:38 and allowed only one shot on goal in the first half. The Red Foxes had only two goals prior to the final two minutes of the game. Freshman Heidi Ritner held an opponent under five goals for the fourth time this season, making six saves in the contest.
Game 2: No. 6 Michigan 7, No. 9 UCSB 2
The Michigan defense was lights out against UCSB, holding the Gauchos scoreless for the first 15:37 of the game. UCSB finally cracked the scoreboard with just 23 seconds remaining in the first half and did not score again until the 4:25 mark of the fourth quarter.
Ritner was fantastic in goal with 10 saves and just the two goals allowed. It was her fourth double-digit save performance of the season. The defense also had 11 steals to help keep the Gauchos off the board.
The last time Michigan held a top-10 team to only two goals was last year against No. 9 UC Irvine at the Stanford Invitational when it won, 6-2, in the third-place game.
Senior Allison Skaggs came out in a big way with a hat trick in the first quarter to help U-M jump out to a 4-0 lead after the first eight minutes. Michigan scored only one goal in each period after the first, but it was more than enough as the defense controlled the game.
Anderson and Johnson were the only other Michigan players to score, adding two goals each to continue their big days.
