Michigan
USC (ex)
Michigan Win Over UCLA Highlights First Day of Exhibition Games
11/2/2019 10:11:00 PM | Water Polo
» Skyler Pyle led the way with seven goals in three games.
» Wolverines bested 2019 NCAA semifinalist UCLA by one goal, 11-10.
» Michigan fell to 2019 NCAA runner-up USC by one goal, 10-9.
Site:Â Irvine, Calif. (Anteater Aquatics Complex)
Scores: USC 10, Michigan 9 (exhibition); UC Irvine 12, Michigan 4 (exhibition); Michigan 11, UCLA 10 (exhibition)
Next U-M Event: Sunday, Nov. 3 -- vs. Canada (Irvine, Calif.), noon PST (exhibition), at Pomona-Pitzer (Claremont, Calif.), 4:30 p.m. PST (exhibition)
IRVINE, Calif. -- The University of Michigan water polo team tested itself with three exhibition games on Saturday (Nov. 2), posting a big win over UCLA, 11-10, while falling to USC, 10-9, and UC Irvine, 12-4.
Two close games with perennial powerhouses USC and UCLA were the highlight of the day for the Wolverines. Michigan pulled out an 11-10 victory late in the fourth quarter against the Bruins at the Anteater Aquatics Complex. It was a big win for the program, which has never beaten UCLA in 23 regular-season meetings. U-M also took the 2019 NCAA runner-up USC to the wire in a 10-9 loss to start the day.
Senior captain Skyler Pyle was the big goal scorer on the day with seven goals, including two hat tricks.
Game 1: USC 10, Michigan 9
Michigan's first test of the weekend came against the Trojans, who reached the NCAA Championship game last season and was ranked No. 1 in the country.
The Wolverines gave the Trojans all they could handle in a one-goal contest, but USC came out on top in the end, 10-9.
U-M held the Trojans to three goals and held a 4-3 lead at the end of the first half. USC came back to even the score at 7 by the end of the third quarter and edged the Wolverines by one goal in the final period to take the win.
Pyle led the Wolverines with a hat trick, while sophomore Ava Morrant tallied two goals. Senior Heidi Ritner stopped seven shots in goal.
U-M Goals: Pyle (3), Morrant (2), Neustrom, O'Reilly, Rogers, Tovani
U-M Assists: O'Reilly (2), Rankin, Rogers, Vranesh
U-M Saves: H. Ritner (7), Jackson (1)
Game 2: UC Irvine 12, Michigan 4
The Wolverines struggled offensively, scoring just one goal in the first three quarters. UC Irvine built a substantial 8-1 lead heading to the final period.
Michigan found its offense with three goals in the fourth quarter, but the Anteaters went on to win the game.
Three of U-M's four goals came from freshmen, as Ella Abbott, Jess Henningsen and Anne Rankin all got on the scoreboard. Sophomore Sophie Jackson earned the start in the cage and stopped seven shots.
Junior captain Sofie Pontré drew five exclusions and had one steal.
U-M Goals: Abbott, Henningsen, Pyle, Rankin
U-M Assists: None
U-M Saves: Jackson (7), Brown (2)
Game 3: Michigan 11, UCLA 10
Tied at 10 late in the fourth quarter, freshman Sophie Tovani scored the go-ahead goal and Ritner came up with a steal on the other end to secure the victory.
The teams were neck-and-neck throughout the contest with Michigan holding a slight 3-2 lead after the first period and a two-goal advantage heading into the final period. UCLA came back to tie the score, but Michigan got the clutch performances it needed down the stretch.
Pyle tallied three goals and one assist to lead the offense. Morrant and junior Maddie O'Reilly each had two goals with O'Reilly chipping in three assists. Tovani pitched in two assists to go with her game-winning goal.
Ritner finished with three steals after her swipe to seal the win. She had seven saves against the Bruins.
U-M Goals: Pyle (3), Morrant (2), O'Reilly (2), Pontré, Rankin, Rogers, Tovani
U-M Assists: O'Reilly (3), Tovani (2), Abbott, Pyle, Rankin
U-M Saves: H. Ritner (7)
Michigan will play two more exhibition games Sunday (Nov. 3). The Wolverines will square off against the Canadian national team at 12 noon PST in Irvine, California, then will head to Claremont, California, to face Pomona-Pitzer at 4:30 p.m. PST.
