Michigan
Princeton
Five-Meter Penalties Difference in U-M Win Over No. 15 Princeton
4/7/2019 10:54:00 AM | Water Polo
» Michigan converted four five-meter penalties in a three-goal victory.
» The Wolverines improved to 3-0 in the CWPA.
» Kim Johnson drew six exclusions.
Site: Cambridge, Mass. (Blodgett Pool)
Score: #6 Michigan 9, #15 Princeton 6
Records: U-M (18-8, 3-0 CWPA), Princeton (17-8, 3-1 CWPA)
Next U-M Event: Sat-Sun., Apr. 13-14 -- vs. Harvard, Bucknell and George Washington (Lewisburg, Pa.)
• PDF Boxscore
CAMBRIDGE, Mass. -- With the help of four five-meter penalty goals, the No. 6-ranked University of Michigan water polo team improved to 3-0 in the CWPA with a 9-6 victory over No. 15 Princeton on Sunday (April 7) at the University of Harvard.
Senior Kim Johnson played a big role in the game with six drawn exclusions. Three of those were penalty fouls that all resulted in goals. Senior Julia Sellers drew the other penalty on a breakaway counter-attack opportunity.
Junior Maddy Steere converted three of the four penalties into goals to lead the team in scoring. Freshman Abby Andrews also converted a penalty for one of her two goals in the game.
Behind two penalty shots and two 6-on-5 goals in the first quarter, Michigan jumped out to a 4-1 lead after eight minutes. Sofie Pontré and Skyler Pyle each scored following exclusions.
The Wolverines extended the lead to five goals, 7-2, in the third quarter on a goal from freshman Erin Neustrom. Princeton went on a three-goal run to cut the lead to two goals in the fourth quarter, but a goal on the final penalty foul drawn by Sellers sealed the victory with 1:32 to play.
Junior Heidi Ritner made seven saves in goal, while holding the Tigers to six goals. She allowed just seven goals in 72 minutes this weekend and moved into second place on Michigan's all-time wins list, becoming the second player in program history with 75 career wins. Â
Michigan will conclude its regular season next weekend at Bucknell with three more conference games. The Wolverines will face Harvard, Bucknell and George Washington next Saturday and Sunday (April 13-14) in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania.
