IRVINE, Calif. — The No. 10-ranked University of Michigan water polo team showed a lot of fight in two losses to top-six opponents on day two of the Barbara Kalbus Invitational at the University of California-Irvine Aquatics Center.
U-M fell to No. 2 University of California-Los Angeles (UCLA), 7-2, to start off the winner’s bracket then lost to host/No. 6 UC-Irvine, 9-8, to set up a seventh-place game match-up with No. 9 University of California-Santa Barbara on Sunday, February 23.
In the day’s opener, the Wolverines knew it would have a tough game against No. 2 UCLA after they lost to the Bruins, 12-4, at Canham Natatorium on January 25 during the Michigan Invitational.
Michgian had a difficult time scoring again this time around as the UCLA defense held them to just two goals in the contest.
Junior Maddie O’Reilly scored on a penalty shot six minutes into the first quarter to tie the game at 1. It was her fourth goal of the weekend.
U-M then went scoreless for the next seven minutes as UCLA went on a 4-0 run. Junior Sofie Pontré ended the run with a goal at just under three minutes left in the first half to cut the Wolverines’ deficit to 4-2.
UCLA did not give up another goal the rest of the way as Michigan was held off the scoreboard for the final 18:56 of the game. The Wolverines also played great defense, keeping the Bruins scoreless for the final 8:26.
Senior goalkeeper Heidi Ritner finished with eight saves, and her defense had four field blocks in the contest with two for Pontré.
The second game of the day featured a third straight top-10 matchup for Michigan as they took on No. 6 UC-Irvine for the second time this season. U-M has faced top-10 teams in nine of its 14 games this season and previously fell to the Anteaters by a 14-9 count on January 18 during the UC-Santa Barbara Winter Invitational.
The Wolverines got off to a slow start, falling behind, 3-0, after the first quarter. Michigan’s offense got things going in the second, scoring four goals to get within one goal at 5-4 at halftime.
In the third quarter, U-M continued to battle, taking a 7-6 lead with 1:34 to go in the period. A three-goal run in the fourth put the Anteaters up by two, 9-7, with 3:24 remaining. Sophomore Erin Neustrom scored with 49 seconds to go to cut the lead to one. After a save by Ritner, U-M called timeout with 13 seconds left to set up a play. Pontré got a shot off but it missed the cage and UCI hung on for the win.
Neustrom and O’Reilly each scored two goals in the game. O’Reilly also had three assists. Ritner finished with 11 saves and two steals in the loss.
Release courtesy University of Michigan Athletics Communications
