Michigan
UC Davis
Michigan Tops UC Davis, Falls to Cal
2/4/2017 12:00:00 AM | Water Polo
» The Wolverines split their games on day one of the Stanford Invitational, besting No. 18 UC Davis, 11-7, before dropping a 13-9 decision to No. 4 Cal.
» Michigan did not allow a goal in the final 21:25 minutes vs. UC Davis.
» Danielle Johnson had three goals, three assists and five steals vs. UC Davis, and Maddy Steere finished with five goals against No. 4 Cal.
Site: Stanford, Calif. (Belardi Pool/Avery Aquatic Center)
Event: Stanford Invitational (Day 1)
Score: #7 Michigan 11, #18 UC Davis 7; #4 Cal 13, #7 Michigan 9
Records: U-M (4-3), UC Davis (1-6), Cal (7-0)
Next U-M Event: Sunday, Feb. 5 -- vs. San Jose State (Palo Alto, Calif.), 9:40 p.m. PST
STANFORD, Calif. -- The No. 7-ranked University of Michigan water polo team started the Stanford Invitational with a 11-7 win over No. 18 UC Davis and followed with a 13-9 loss to No. 4 Cal on Saturday (Feb. 4) at the Avery Aquatic Center.
Game 1: No. 7 Michigan 11, No. 18 UC Davis 7
Trailing 7-5 at the 5:25 mark of the second quarter, Michigan buckled down and made a defensive statement. The Wolverines did not allow another goal in the final 21:25 of the game, including a second-half shutout.
Senior captain Danielle Johnson, from nearby Walnut Creek, California, had a monster game for Michigan. She not only led the team with three goals for her first hat trick of the year, but she also assisted on three goals and had five steals.
Johnson was a key member of the U-M defense that shut down the Aggies' two-meter game in the second half. Her helpside defense led to steals and counter-attack opportunities. Behind her, freshman goalkeeper Heidi Ritner got into a second half rhythm, making seven saves and not allowing a goal. She finished with 11 saves on the day for her third double-digit save game of the season.
Michigan came back from the 7-5 deficit to tie the game at halftime. The first five minutes of the third period went scoreless, and then senior Allison Skaggs put her second goal of the game in to give U-M the lead. Junior Laura Jimenez followed with her first score of the season to make it 9-7 after three quarters.
The Wolverines opened the game with three quick goals and a 3-0 lead. Junior Caroline Anderson had two beautiful assists in to the post at the start of the game and finished with two goals as well. However, UC Davis countered with four quick goals in the second quarter to take the 7-5 lead.
Sophomore Kim Johnson had one goal and three assists, while Michigan's leading goal scorer on the year, Julia Sellers, scored twice.
Game 2: No. 4 Cal 13, No. 7 Michigan 9
At the Collegiate Cup in November, the Wolverines lost to the Golden Bears 14-7. This time around it was a four-goal game as Michigan received an outstanding five-goal performance from freshman Maddy Steere.
Cal scored on its first two possessions and led 3-0, before Michigan got on the board. Steere fired it in from long range for her first goal of the game.
It was 4-1 after the first period, before Michigan cut the lead to 4-2 and had a breakaway chance to make it a one-goal game, but the shot was off target. Cal came down and scored to make it 5-2 and tacked on two more for a 7-2 halftime lead.
U-M struck first in the third quarter with a 6-on-5 goal by Steere, her second of the game. However, the Golden Bears answered with three quick goals to extend the advantage to 10-3. Steere came back to finish off the hat trick on a penalty shot later in the period.
Michigan put up five goals in the final period, but it was too late to make a rally. Steere added two more and Skaggs scored twice from the post. Also Anderson converted a 6-on-5 chance as U-M outscored the Golden Bears 5-3 in the final period.
Michigan will play two more games Sunday (Feb. 5) at the Stanford Invitational. The Wolverines take on No. 16 San Jose State at 9:40 a.m. PST and then will wait and see the time and opponent of their final game this weekend.
