No. 10 Michigan Stuns No. 7 San Diego State, Edged by No. 3 UCLA at Michigan Kick-Off Tournament

Leah Robertson

ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The No. 10-ranked University of Michigan water polo team upset No. 7-ranked San Diego State University, 9-4, after falling to No. 3-ranked and defending national champion University of California-Los Angeles (UCLA) on Sunday, January 24 on the second day of the Michigan Kick-Off at Canham Natatorium. The Wolverines went 3-1 at the season-opening tournament.

Senior Leah Robertson (Newport Beach, Calif./Newport Harbor) matched a program record with eight drawn ejections against UCLA. Freshmen Kiki Golden (Danville, Calif./Monte Vista) and Lauren Colton (Tustin, Calif./Tesoro) led the Wolverines in upset of SDSU, with three points each.

Fifth-year senior Brittany May (Santa Barbara, Calif./Santa Barbara) sparkled in the second game, making 10 saves, including four while shorthanded. Golden amassed nine thefts and Colton had seven drawn kickouts on the day while junior Cara Reitz (Miami, Fla./Gulliver) had a five-steal effort.

A physical first period looked like it would not produce a leader as the two teams were locked at 1-1 until Golden got open and slammed home a high shot from six meters on a restart with one second remaining. The goal sparked five straight U-M goals in the second frame before SDSU could find an answer. Colton picked up three points in the stanza and junior Ryley Plunkett (Modesto, Calif./Johansen) tallied a goal and an assist.

Junior Sarah Roberts (Newport Beach, Calif./Newport Harbor) took advantage of a penalty off the opening sprint of the second half, tossing a high arc at the center of the cage to expand U-M's lead to 8-2. With the six-goal lead in tow, the Wolverines took on a defensive posture for the remainder of the game. May was forced to make three crucial saves, only being beat by a SDSU five-meter penalty toss. Reitz capped the U-M scoring, spinning off a defender at two meters to boost the lead to 9-3. SDSU made one last gasp with just over two minutes remaining, but the shut-down defense preserved the sizable lead until the clock ran out.

Michigan was eyeing an upset in the morning session as well, holding a 5-3 lead late in the second period against the defending national champion Bruins. Junior Keller Felt (La Jolla, Calif./La Jolla) netted a highlight-reel goal to put U-M up 4-3, racing down the pool on a give-and-go with junior Lauren Orth (Poway, Calif./Poway). The return pass appeared to be sailing over Felt, but the driver reached back to the point of being parallel to the water to corral the ball and score it. The Bruins then scored twice in the final two minutes of the opening half to level the score at 5-5, and rattled off the first four goals of the second half to put the game out of reach for the Maize and Blue.

Michigan will take a week off before taking its first road trip of the 2010 campaign Feb 6-7 at the Stanford Invitational in Palo Alto, Calif. The Wolverines went 23-7 away from Ann Arbor last season.

GAME SUMMARIES

Michigan Goals: Leah Robertson 2, Alison Mantel, Kiki Golden, Keller Felt, Sarah Roberts, Lauren Colton.
UCLA Goals: Priscilla Orozco 4, Sarah Orozco 3, Emily Greenwood, Megan Burmeister, Kelly Easterday.
Saves: U-M (Brittany May 3, Alex Adamson 1), UCLA 10 (Caitlin Dement)
Ejections: U-M 6, UCLA 16

Michigan Goals: Kiki Golden 3, Lauren Colton 2, Sarah Roberts 2, Ryley Plunkett, Cara Reitz.
SDSU Goals: Sarah Brady 3, Amber Pezzolla.
Saves: U-M 10 (Brittany May), SDSU 6 (Kelly Campoli)
Ejections: U-M 11, SDSU 8

Release courtesy University of Michigan Athletic Communications