Michigan's Season Ends at the Hand of No. 3 Cal in NCAA Quarterfinals

Friday, May 6

Ann Arbor, Mich.

6:00 PM

Michigan

26-9, 12-0

California

17-5, 3-3

Michigan

California

(Michigan Photography)

Michigan's Season Ends at the Hand of No. 3 Cal in NCAA Quarterfinals

5/6/2022 7:46:00 PM | Water Polo

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By: Bridgette Underwood

» Maddie O'Reilly led Michigan with two goals, while Kayla Barone registered three steals.
» Goalie Alex Brown collected eight saves for the Wolverines.
» U-M concluded its season with a 26-9 record.

Site: Ann Arbor, Mich. (Canham Natatorium)
Event: NCAA Tournament (Quarterfinals)
Score: #3 California 10, #7 Michigan 4
Records: U-M (26-9), Cal (17-5)
Next U-M Event: Season Completed

ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- Playing in its home pool as host of the NCAA Tournament, the No. 7-ranked University of Michigan water polo team never recovered from an early deficit against No. 3 California, falling 10-4 on Friday (May 6) in the NCAA quarterfinals at Canham Natatorium. The loss ended the Wolverines' season.

The top four seeds all won Friday and advanced to Saturday's semifinals that will pit No. 1 seed Stanford against No. 4 seed UCLA at 3 p.m., followed by No. 2 seed Southern California and No. 3 seed California at 5 p.m. The championship game is set for 4 p.m. Sunday and will be televised by ESPNU. Tickets are available at MGoBlue.com/tickets.

Michigan was led by Maddie O'Reilly with two goals and Kayla Barone on the defensive side with three steals. Goalie Alex Brown collected eight saves.

California struck within the first 30 seconds to score the only goal of the first quarter. Brown came up with multiple clutch saves to keep it a one-goal contest.

O'Reilly evened the game at the 6:09 mark of the second quarter, finding the back of the net with a bullet of a shot with an assist from Maddy Steere. Cal scored the next two goals to take a 3-1 lead before O'Reilly hit her second of the game, this time from Barone. The Golden Bears scored back-to-back goals to stretch their lead to three to end the first half up 5-2.

To start off the third-quarter scoring, Cal found the back of the net with 5:35 on the clock. Steere capitalized on a penalty shot, as she skipped the ball into the back of the net to bring the Wolverines back within three goals. However, Cal tallied back-to-back goals to end the quarter up by five, 8-3.

After Cal scored just 22 seconds into the final quarter, Kata Utassy answered 24 seconds later for the Wolverines with a goal from outside, but the Bears shut down the Wolverines the rest of the way. A penalty goal from Cal at the 6:08 mark ended the scoring.

Michigan finished its season with a 26-9 overall record. The Wolverines went 12-0 in conference play and won the CWPA Championship for their sixth consecutive conference title and 11th in program history.