SANTA BARBARA, Calif. — No. 8-ranked the University of Michigan picked up its first victories of the season as the defending Collegiate Water Polo Association (CWPA) Champion Wolverines took down No. 25 California State University, Bakersfield, 11-2, and host/No. 9 University of California-Santa Barbara, 7-4, on the second day of the UCSB Winter Invitational.
“We put a premium on our defense,” said head coach Dr. Marcelo Leonardi. “We did a great job with our team defense of limiting good looks. They had good effort and came away with a lot of tips and steals. Heidi (Ritner) was great in goal and will only get better as she masters our system.”
Michigan’s defense was outstanding in its second outing of the year, allowing only two goals, in topping CSU Bakersfield by an 11-2 final score. The Wolverines shut out the Roadrunners in the first and final periods. Freshman Heidi Ritner recorded nine saves and three steals. She was replaced late in the fourth quarter by senior Emily Browning.
“We have been working on our gapping in practice, and it really showed up in the games today,” said Ritner. “I felt like I was in rhythm and had a good warmup.”
It was not until the third quarter that Michigan got its offense going as U-M led 2-1 in a low-scoring first half. Both first-half goals were scored by sophomore Julia Sellers.
Sellers helped provide the offensive spark in the third period, achieving the hat trick to put U-M up 4-1. Sophomore Kim Johnson and senior captains Allison Skaggs and Heidi Moreland scored their first goals of the year as Michigan racked up five goals in the third period to stretch the advantage to 7-2.
The Wolverines tacked on four more goals in the final quarter. Junior Caroline Anderson scored her first two goals of the season, while Kim Johnson and freshman Maddy Steere each scored their second goals of the contest.
Anderson finished with two goals and four assists. Sellers added three steals to her hat trick. Kim Johnson had two goals, one assist and three steals.
The top-10 matchup between No. 8 Michigan and No. 9 UCSB proved to be a battle. The margin between the two programs was no more than one goal through three periods.
Just as they did earlier in the day, the Wolverines closed strong. Ritner and the defense shut out the Gauchos in the final period, while Kim Johnson and Skaggs each scored goals to make it a 7-4 final.
“I thought our fitness really showed in the fourth quarter today,” said Leonardi. “We are pretty fit and were able to outswim teams in the fourth. Also, we had people emerge with critical goals and stops at the right time.”
U-M had the game’s first goal as senior captain Danielle Johnson recorded her first goal of the year in the first quarter. UCSB went up 2-1 in the second, before Steere tied it up. However, the Gauchos scored right before halftime for a 3-2 lead.
Steere found Anderson for a third-period goal to even it at 3-3. After a UCSB goal, Sellers and Kim Johnson scored back-to-back goals to give U-M the momentum heading into the final period.
Kim Johnson and Sellers led all scorers with four goals apiece on the day. Ritner had seven saves and two steals in the contest.
Release courtesy University of Michigan Athletics Communications
