Michigan
California
Clutch Goals Lead Michigan in Overtime Thriller vs. No. 7 Cal
2/21/2020 9:05:00 PM | Water Polo
» Goalkeeper Heidi Ritner tied Betsey Armstrong's career wins record of 85.
» U-M defeated No. 7 Cal for the second time in program history.
» Anne Rankin tied the game with three seconds left in regulation to force overtime.
» Erin Neustrom scored the game-winning goal with 1:49 to play.
Site: Newport Beach, Calif. (Corona del Mar H.S.)
Event: Barbara Kalbus Invitational (Day 1 of 3)
Score: #10 Michigan 11, #7 Cal 10 (OT)
Records: U-M (6-6), Cal (8-5)
Next U-M Event: Saturday, Feb. 22 -- vs. No. 2 UCLA - Barbara Kalbus Invitational, Day 2 (Irvine, Calif.), 10:30 a.m. PST
• PDF Boxscore
NEWPORT BEACH, Calif. -- Freshman Anne Rankin scored with three seconds left in regulation to force overtime, and sophomore Erin Neustrom netted the game-winning goal in the second overtime period as the No. 10-ranked University of Michigan water polo team defeated No. 7 Cal, 11-10, in OT on Friday (Feb. 21 to start the Barbara Kalbus Invitational at Corona del Mar High School.
It was a game with several momentum shifts, but the Wolverines came up with clutch goals to avenge two losses earlier this season against the Golden Bears.
It appeared things were going to go Cal's way yet again as it scored to take an 8-7 lead with 1:24 to play in the fourth quarter, and Michigan turned the ball over on its next possession. However, U-M got the ball back and called timeout with 28 seconds left on the clock. The Wolverines were able to draw an exclusion with 13 seconds to go, and 10 seconds later Rankin scored the team's biggest goal of the season to knot the score at 8. One last heave from Cal hit off the post and the teams went to overtime.
"It was a small piece of the entire game," said Rankin. "Every single person had done something to lead up to that moment. We were open at the top, and I was just happy to see it go in."
In the first overtime period, the two teams each scored in the first minute. With 34 seconds remaining, Cal's Kristina Garcia broke the tie with a goal to give the Bears a 10-9 lead. Another clutch shot on a 6-on-5 followed as sophomore Ava Morrant beat the defense with six seconds on the clock to tie the game at 10.
That set up the game-winning goal from Neustrom. She scored at the 1:49 mark for the only goal of the second overtime period. Senior goalkeeper Heidi Ritner had a save and a late field block helped keep the Golden Bears off the board.
"Ultimately, everyone made contributions in this game," said Neustrom. "At that point, it was my time to contribute. We have been working towards this for a long time. We had been close against Cal in the first two games, and the third times a charm. We wanted to do this for the team, and everyone was playing for the person to their left and right."
Ritner made a season-high 16 saves and earned the win in the cage to tie Betsey Armstrong's career wins record of 85. Friday's game was Ritner's fourth on the season with 10 saves or more.
"It is really exciting," said Ritner. "I can't imagine a more perfect game to have this record come in, with a great win against Cal at my high school in my hometown."
Junior Maddie O'Reilly had her fourth hat trick of the season with three goals and one assist. Rankin, Neustrom, Morrant and senior Skyler Pyle all tallied two goals.
The Michigan win came in the third close game this season against Cal. The Wolverines have faced the Golden Bears in each of their three road tournaments in 2020. The first meeting came down to the last second when Cal's Claire Sonne scored the game-winner as time expired. Two weeks later, the two teams met at the Stanford Invitational with the Golden Bears coming out on top, 10-8, in another back-and-forth battle.
The victory is a milestone win for Michigan as it is just the second win over Cal in program history in 15 attempts. The only other time the Wolverines came out on top was in 2016 at the same tournament at UC Irvine. Michigan edged out No. 3 Cal, 7-5, to advance to the fifth-place game.
With three weeks off, the Wolverines came out of the gate fresh and strong. On the opening possession they drew a penalty foul, and O'Reilly converted for the first goal of the game. Up, 2-1, senior Pyle gave the team a big lift in the final 40 seconds of the first quarter, scoring goals with 38 seconds and one second remaining to put Michigan out in front, 4-1.
Cal came back with a big second quarter, outscoring the Wolverines, 4-0, to take a 5-4 lead at halftime. The Golden Bears took advantage of their opportunities with two penalty-shot goals and a 6-on-5 goal in the period.
The Wolverines regrouped at halftime and came out with another strong period in the third. O'Reilly scored off the sprint to give her the first goal of each half. U-M then took the lead back with a goal by Morrant. It was back-and-forth the rest of the period as Cal tied the score with 4:42 to play, but not for long, as O'Reilly would find Neustrom 16 seconds later for a score. The Golden Bears then evened it back up at 7 with a goal at the 2:57 mark to send the game into the fourth all tied up.
The defenses tightened up in the fourth quarter as neither team scored in the first six minutes. Cal broke the drought with 1:24 remaining before Rankin scored the tying goal with three seconds to go.
Michigan will be back in the pool Saturday (Feb. 22) at 10:30 a.m. PST for a matchup against No. 2 UCLA. It will be the second meeting of the season for the two schools. UCLA took the first meeting, 12-4, at Canham Natatorium, holding U-M scoreless in the first half.
