University of Michigan-vs.-Brown University Scoresheet (PDF)
LEWISBURG, Pa. — No. 10-ranked the University of Michigan received scoring from seven players, including a game-high five markers from Player of the Game Christina O’Beck (Sr., Newport Beach, Calif./Newport Harbor), as the Wolverines overpowered Brown University, 16-4, in the opening round of the 2018 Collegiate Water Polo Association (CWPA) Women’s Varsity Championship at Bucknell University’s Kinney Natatorium.
Michigan (30-8, 7-1 CWPA) will next be in action at 3:00 p.m. on Saturday, April 28, in a semifinal showdown against the victor of an first round clash pitting No. 13 Hartwick College versus George Washington University.
The Wolverines, who increased their win total to 30 for the program’s seventh 30th victory campaign following past marks in 2004 (30-9), 2008 (34-11), 2009 (35-9), 2010 (33-8), 2011 (32-5) and 2016 (30-8), buried Brown (15-17, 3-5 CWPA) under the weight of an early offensive onslaught as Kim Johnson (Jr., Walnut Creek, Calif./Las Lomas), Kathy Rogers (Fr., New Forest, England/Trinity School), Delaney Cleveland (Jr., Huntington Beach, Calif./Corona del Mar) and Christina O’Beck (Sr., Newport Beach, Calif./Newport Harbor) netted even-strength goals at 7:18, 5:36, 1:44 and 48 seconds, respectively, to accompany a power-play conversion by Caroline Anderson (Sr., Palo Alto, Calif./Henry M. Gunn) at 4:44 to hold a 5-0 lead after the first quarter.
Julia Sellers (Jr., Santa Ana, Calif./Foothill) built the lead to 6-0 at the 5:50 mark of the second quarter before Brown’s Lexi Atwell (So., La Jolla, Calif./La Jolla) broke the ice for the Bears by bashing in a man-up bid at 4:37 to trim Bruno’s deficit to 6-1.
Michigan refused to let-up, however, as Maddy Steere (So., Pascoe Vale, Australia/St. Catherine’s School) and O’Beck stroked in shots at 4:24 and 52 seconds left in the second quarter, respectively, to make it 8-1 by halftime.
Sellers made it 9-1 69 seconds into the third quarter (6:51) and Maigrie McDougal (Jr., Sacramento, Calif./Rio Americano) responded for Brown at 6:18 to keep the lead at seven.
The Wolverines further padded their margin as O’Beck completed a hat-trick at 5:47, Anderson curved in a power-play chance with 1:46 on the clock and Sofie Pontre (Fr., Perth, Western Australia/Santa Maria College) registered a solo marker at 1:03 to widen the chasm between the programs to 12-2.
Carmen Rosas (Jr., Schaumburg, Ill./James B. Conant) attempted to ignite a Bears’ comeback in the waning seconds of the third quarter as she fired in a shot with 47 seconds left to make it 12-3 after 24 minutes of competition.
However, Sellers (5:53) and O’Beck (5:10) terminated any chance of a rally by ticking off back-to-back tallies to make it an 11-goal game at 14-3 with five minutes remaining in the fourth quarter.
McKenna Miller (Jr., Danville, Calif./Monte Vista) inched Brown back within 10 at 14-4 with 4:46 on the clock, but Sellers (2:17) and O’Beck (54 seconds) hammered home the concluding points for the 16-4 final score.
For Michigan, O’Beck (five), Sellers (four) and Anderson (two) each notched multi-goal games, while Johnson, Pontre, Cleveland, Rogers and Steere all found the back of the cage once.
Between the pipes, Heidi Ritner (So., Newport Beach, Calif./Corona del Mar) and Cameron Cordial (So., Long Beach, Calif./Wilson) combined for two saves as the duo played the first and second half, respectively.
Miller, Atwell, McDougal and Rosas each notched single goals to account for Brown’s offense, while goalie Marisol Dakan (Sr., Pasadena, Calif./La Salle) took the loss with eight saves.
The defeat drops the Bears into the consolation side of the championship bracket as the team will next be in action at Noon on Saturday, April 28, against the loser of the Hartwick-George Washington opening round game with a spot in the Fifth Place game on the line.
| 1st Q | 2nd Q | 3rd Q | 4th Q | – | FINAL | |
| Brown University | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | – | 4 |
| No. 10 University of Michigan | 5 | 3 | 4 | 4 | – | 16 |
| Michigan Goals: | Christina O’Beck (5); Julia Sellers (4); Caroline Anderson (2); Kim Johnson; Sofie Pontre; Delaney Cleveland; Kathy Rogers; Maddy Steere | |||||
| Brown Goals: | McKenna Miller; Lexi Atwell; Maigrie McDougal; Carmen Rosas | |||||
| Saves: | Michigan – Heidi Ritner (1, 16 minutes), Cameron Cordial (1, 16 minutes) ; Brown – Marisol Dakan (8) | |||||
| Exclusions: | Michigan – 4 ; Brown – 3 | |||||
| Advantage Opportunities: | Michigan – 2-for-3; Brown – 1-for-4 | |||||
| Sprints: | Michigan – 4-for-4 ; Brown – 0-for-4 | |||||
| Cards/Misconducts: | None | |||||
| Officials: | Josh Kratz, Alex Stankevitch | |||||
Brown University’s McKenna Miller (#17) attempts drop a pass over a charging Kim Johnson (#10) from the University of Michigan
University of Michigan goalie Heidi Ritner (#1)
University of Michigan’s Kim Johnson (#10) shoots on Brown University goalie Marisol Dakan (#1)
