Michigan
Harvard
Michigan Tops Harvard, Will Face Princeton for CWPA Championship
4/29/2017 12:00:00 AM | Water Polo
» Michigan advances to its 11th CWPA championship game.
» Freshman goalkeeper Heidi Ritner made 13 saves.
» Senior Danielle Johnson scored her 150th career goal.
Site: Bloomington, Ind. (Counsilman-Billingsley Aquatics Center)
Event: CWPA Championship (Semifinals)
Scores: #7 Michigan 11, #20 Harvard 5
Records: U-M (27-8), Harvard (15-13)
Next U-M Event: Sunday April 30 -- vs. Princeton - CWPA Championship (Bloomington, Ind.), 1:30 p.m.
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- The No. 7 University of Michigan water polo team defeated No. 20 Harvard, 11-5, on Saturday (April 29) to advance to the CWPA championship game at Counsilman-Billingsley Aquatics Center.
Michigan's winning streak is now at 15 games, the longest since a 22-game winning streak in 2011. U-M moves on to the championship game for the 11th time in school history. The Wolverines will face No. 9 Princeton tomorrow (Sunday, April 30) at 1:30 p.m. and will be looking for their seventh title.
The story of the game was freshman goalkeeper Heidi Ritner and the Michigan defense. Ritner was on her "A" game from start to finish as she recorded a career-high 18 saves. She held Harvard scoreless for the first 10:00 of the contest and to just one first half goal while posting nine saves. The Crimson was able to score four times on her in the second half, but she added nine more saves to best her previous best by one.
"I was feeling good going into the game," said Ritner. "My teammates were all super pumped and that got me pumped up. We did a good job of avoiding fouls and putting pressure on them to make it hard for them to get a decent shot off."
U-M featured a balanced offense that helped them dissect Harvard in the semifinals. Five different players scored two goals in the game to help the Wolverines advance.
Junior Caroline Anderson was the top offensive player with two goals and three assists to give her five or more points in 11 games this season. Freshman Maddy Steere scored the first two goals in the game and added two assists.
Two goals by senior Danielle Johnson brought her to 150 for her career, but she was also able to draw two penalty fouls and with her hard work inside. Allison Skaggs and Julia Sellers also scored twice, while Kim Johnson tallied four steals and three drawn exclusions.
It was 4-1 at halftime and then both teams turned up its offense a notch. Michigan broke open the game with five third-quarter goals as it built a 9-2 advantage. Harvard scored three of its five goals in the final period but the game was out of reach as U-M improved to 11-0 all-time against the Crimson.
The championship game between the top two seeds will take place on Sunday (April 30) at 1:30 p.m. Michigan defeated Princeton in the regular season, 14-6. U-M topped the Tigers in last year's CWPA semifinal by one goal, 9-8, en route to claiming its sixth title.
