No. 10 University of Michigan Outlasts No. 10 Princeton University, 11-8, to Capture 2018/Third Consecutive Collegiate Water Polo Association Championship

Princeton University-vs.-University of Michigan Scoresheet (PDF)

LEWISBURG, Pa — No. 10-ranked the University of Michigan raced out to a 6-1 lead in the first quarter and never looked back in taking down No. 10/Collegiate Water Polo Association (CWPA) regular season champion Princeton University, 11-8, in the title game of the CWPA Championship hosted by Bucknell University at Kinney Natatorium.

The Wolverines (32-8, 7-1 CWPA) never trailed and kept the Tigers (23-8, 8-0 CWPA) in catch-up mode for all but 32 seconds of the contest. 

Courtesy the win, Michigan clinches the program’s third consecutive CWPA Championship and advances into the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Championship field.  A decision regarding if the Maize & Blue will need to compete in a play-in game or advance automatically to the final championship site at the University of Southern California should come within the next 24 hours.

Michigan wasted no time in putting the Tigers’ in a hole from which Princeton would never recover.

A penalty call against Chelsea Johnson (Sr., Miami, Fla./Ransom Everglades) 31 seconds into the first quarter on the game’s opening possession proved to spell doom for the Tigers.  Maddy Steere (So., Pascoe Vale, Australia/St. Catherine’s School) buried the ensuing five-meter penalty shot with 7:28 on the clock to open the floodgates of an offensive surge that would swamp Princeton and lay the foundation for the Wolverines’ league championship.

Caroline Anderson (Sr., Palo Alto, Calif./Henry M. Gunn) and Tournament Most Valuable Player Julia Sellers (Jr., Santa Ana, Calif./Foothill) followed with even-strength scores with 4:57 and 4:08 left on the clock to expand the lead to 3-0 before Haley Wan (Sr., Irvine, Calif./Santa Margarita Catholic) broke the ice for the Tigers with a five-meter penalty shot at 3:42 to move Princeton within 3-1. 

However, the Wolverines bared their claws once more as Anderson punched in a man-up opportunity at 3:26 prior to Christina O’Beck (Sr., Newport Beach, Calif./Newport Harbor) and Brittany Prentice (Fr., Santa Barbara, Calif./San Marcos) dinging the twine with natural markers at 2:42 and 2:20, respectively, to provide Michigan a commanding 6-1 lead less than six minutes into the game. 

Wan attempted to revive the Tigers’ in the closing seconds of the first quarter as she drilled in a six-on-five bid with 46 ticks left to inch Princeton back to within four at 6-2.

However, Player of the Game Kim Johnson (Jr., Walnut Creek, Calif./Las Lomas) responded to Wan’s man-up strike with two even-strength blows to start the second quarter as she buried back-to-back shots at 6:53 and 4:47 to grow the lead to a game-high six goals at 8-2.

Eliza Britt (Jr., Newport Beach, Calif./Corona del Mar) trimmed one score off the Tigers’ deficit prior to halftime as she sliced in a a shot at the 4:18 mark to pull Princeton within five (8-3) by the break.

Amy Castellano (So., Yorba Linda, Calif./Yorba Linda) decreased Michigan’s lead down to 8-4 35 seconds into the third quarter as she cashed in a man-up chance (7:25) to make it an 8-4 game.

Down to a four-goal lead with the CWPA regular season champions surging back into the contest, Michigan received the eventual game-winning goal from Kim Johnson as she lined in a shot with 6:27 on the clock to make it 9-4.

Leading by five and coasting the victory, the Wolverines saw the game begin to slip-away as Chelsea Johnson, Britt and Wan rattled off back-to-back-to-back markers at 3:38, 2:42 and 1:03, respectively, to race back into the contest and make it 9-7 entering the fourth quarter.

Needing some offense to stymie Princeton, Kim Johnson dropped in her fourth strike of the game with 6:12 left in regulation to push the Maize & Blue into double-digits and make it 10-7 with the clock winding down.

Wan pumped in a five-meter penalty shot with 5:59 to go with hopes of starting for one final run to either force overtime or win the championship in regulation, but Prentice snuffed out the Tigers’ dreams of another championship by dumping in a shot at the 5:26 mark for the 11-8 final score.

In the history of the championship, Michigan has now finished fifth (2001), first (2002, 7-6 W OT SD vs. Hartwick College at Princeton), third (2003), second (2004, 5-2 L vs. Hartwick at Bucknell), first (2005, 8-7 W at Indiana University), second (2006, 11-8 L vs. Hartwick at Brown University), fourth (2007), first (2008, 10-7 W vs. Hartwick at home), first (2009, 12-6 W vs. Hartwick at Harvard University), first (2010, 7-5 W vs. Indiana at University of Maryland), second (2011, 5-3 L at Indiana), third (2012), second (2013, 7-5 L vs. Princeton at home), third (2014), fourth (2015), first (2016, 9-2 W vs. Indiana at Harvard) and first (2017, 5-4 W vs. Princeton at Indiana) and first (2018) since 2001 as the team claims its eighth CWPA crown in a record 12 title appearances.

Kim Johnson led the way for the Wolverines to another crown with four goals, while Anderson and Prentice both tacked on pairs.  O’Beck, Steere and Sellers each chipped in solo markers in support of a seven save effort from goalie Heidi Ritner (So., Newport Beach, Calif./Newport Harbor).

On the other end of the tank, Wan posted four goals to go along with a pair by Britt and single scores from Castellano and Chelsea Johnson.  In cage, CWPA Rookie of the Year and CWPA Championship Rookie of the Tournament Marissa Webb (Fr., Danville, Calif./San Ramon) stopped three shots.

The 2000, 2012, 2013 and 2015 CWPA Champion, Princeton was making its eighth title game appearance as Princeton fell to Indiana (11-10 L in 2014 at Bucknell), Hartwick (8-6 L in 2007 at Princeton), Brown (11-10 L OT SD in 2001 at Brown) and the Michigan (5-4 L in 2017 at Indiana), while claiming the 2000 (6-4 W vs. University of Massachusetts at Princeton), 2012 (6-5 W vs. University of Maryland at Brown), 2013 (7-5 W at Michigan) and 2015 (7-6 W vs. Indiana at Princeton) crowns.

Following the tournament, the 2018 All-CWPA Championship Team was announced:

Most Valuable Player: Julia Selllers (University of Michigan)
Rookie of the Tournament: Marissa Webb (Princeton University)
Doc Hunkler Coach of the Tournament: Becca Dorst (Princeton University)

First Team:
Jessica Gaudreault (Goalie) – Indiana University
Haley Wan – Princeton University
Chelsea Johnson – Princeton University
Maddy Steere – University of Michigan
Julia Sellers – University of Michigan
Zsofia Polak – Hartwick College
Lena Kotanchyan – Hartwick College

Second Team:
Marisol Dakan (Goalie) – Brown University
Jessica Heilman – Brown University
Joelle Nacouzi – Indiana University
Kelly Matthews – Indiana University
Marta Considine – Bucknell University
Kali Hyham – Bucknell University
Kristen Hong – Harvard University

	1st Q	2nd Q	3rd Q	4th Q	–	FINAL
No. 10 University of Michigan	6	2	1	2	–	11
No. 10 Princeton University	2	1	4	1	–	8
Princeton Goals:	Haley Wan (4); Eliza Britt (2); Amy Castellano;  Chelsea Johnson
Michigan Goals:	Kim Johnson (4); Caroline Anderson (2); Brittany Prentice (2); Christina O’Beck; Maddy Steere; Julia Sellers
Saves:	Princeton – Marissa Webb (3) ; Michigan – Heidi Ritner (7)
Exclusions:	Princeton – 8 ; Michigan – 12
Advantage Opportunities:	Princeton – 4-for-12 ; Michigan – 2-for-8
Sprints:	Princeton – 1-for-4 (3rd) ; Michigan – 3-for-4 (1st, 2nd, 4th)
Cards/Misconducts:	None
Officials:	Alex Stankevitch, Josh Kratz