SANTA BARBARA, Calif. — The No. 8-ranked University of Michigan water polo team opened the 2017 season with an 11-3 loss to No. 2 University of Southern California (USC) at the University of California-Santa Barbara (UCSB) Winter Invitational held at the UCSB Campus Pool.
The game lived up to its Top 10 billing through the first period with USC hanging on to a 3-2 lead. Michigan then tied the score at 3-3, before the Trojans went on a big run. USC, which returned the bulk of its 2016 National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) championship squad, did not allow another goal the rest of the way. The defending champ outscored Michigan 8-0 to close out the game, scoring four in the second, three in the third and one in the fourth period.
Two freshmen were in the Michigan starting lineup to make their collegiate debut. Heidi Ritner (Newport Beach, Calif.) started in goal and Maddy Steere (Pascoe Vale, Australia) was at center defender.
Steere wasted no time making an impact for the Maize and Blue, scoring Michigan’s first goal of 2017 with a nice outside shot to tie the game at 1-1. She then converted a five-meter penalty shot to make it 2-2. USC added a goal to take a 3-2 lead after the first period. Ritner was as good as advertised in the cage, making 11 saves against the Trojans.
Sophomore Julia Sellers (Santa Ana, Calif.) scored the third goal for the Wolverines in the second period. She had 24 goals as a freshman, coming on strong late in the year.
Midway through the third period freshman Skyler Pyle (Long Beach, Calif.) made her collegiate debut, joining classmates Ritner and Steere in the pool.
USC limited Michigan’s chances and kept the returning firepower for the Wolverines off the scoreboard for most of the contest. The game was well played on both sides of the ball with only eight exclusions combined from the two teams. Michigan only had two in the contest.
Release courtesy the University of Michigan Athletics Communications
