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No. 4 Michigan Downs No. 6 Oregon 6-4 to Reach National Collegiate Club Title Game
TUCSON, Ariz. -- Allison Born (Sr., Santa Monica, Calif.) deposited shots in the first and third period, including the game-winner with 25 seconds left in the third period, while Kathryn Godlewski (Sr., Troy, Mich.) recorded 10 saves to lead No. 4-nationally ranked the University of Michigan past No. 6 University of Oregon and into the 2010 National Collegiate Club Title Game. It marks Michigan's first title game appearance in only the fifth year of the club.
Founded in 2005, the program's previous high finish came in 2007 as the Wolverines knocked off host Williams College (10-0 W) and the University of Oregon (6-5 W) before falling to eventual national champion California Polytechnic State University (8-6 L) in the semifinals. IN the third place game, the UM upended defending national champion Michigan State Unviersity 10-9 in overtime.
This year, Michigan can get revenge for the loss to Cal Poly three seasons ago as the Wolverines and the two-time defending national champion and No. 1 nationally-ranked Mustangs will meet at 12:45 p.m. on Sunday, April 25 at the University of Arizona for the world of collegiate club water polo's penultimate prize, the National Collegiate Club Championship.
To reach Cal Poly and a shot at the program's first national championship, the Wolverines needed to dispatch the Ducks as Michigan fell behind 2-1 at the end of the first period but used a three-goal outburst in the third period to turn a 2-2 halftime tie into a 5-3 lead with seven minutes to play in the contest. The two-marker deficit and Michigan's defense was too much for Oregon to overcome in the 6-4 loss by the Ducks.
It took 3:55 for the ice to be broken in the game as Jeanette Lo (Fr., Oakland, Calif.) zipped a shot into the cage with 3:05 left in the first period to stake Oregon to a 1-0 lead. Michigan tied the score at the 2:35 mark with a successful shot by Born, but the Ducks flew out to the lead once again courtesy a goal by Lizzy Flower (Sr., Lafayette, Calif.) with 2:10 left in the opening frame.
The Wolverines tied the game with 6:12 left in the second period as Clio Finnegan (Fr., Ann Arbor, Mich.) split the Ducks' defense for a marker and a 2-2 stalemate at halftime.
Michigan and Oregon traded goals to open the second half as Merideth Segovia (Jr., East Grand Rapids, Mich.) dented the cage at 6:28 to hand the Wolverines their first lead of the game at 3-2 before Lizzy Flower (Sr., Lafayette, Calif.) went Edward Woodward and contributed the Equalizer at the 5:14 mark.
Danie Schroth (Fr., Troy, Mich.) and Born then took over the game scoring at 2:38 and 25 seconds to push the Wolverines out to a 5-3 lead, a margin the teamd would not lose down the stretch.
The margin grew to three goals at 6:43 of the fourth period as Anne-Lise Maag (Gr., Menlo Park, Calif.) rocked the iron with a five-meter penalty shot which eluded Oregon netminder Jessica Kragt (Sr., Beaverton, Ore.) to make it 6-3.
Oregon attempted to rally back as Flower rose to the occcassion with a marker at the 4:37 mark, but the Ducks' title hopes wilted under the Wolverines' defensive pressure and clock management.
For Oregon, Kragt finished with six saves as the Ducks will meet No. 5 University of California-Santa Cruz, a 13-4 victim to Cal Poly in the other semifinal, at 11:30 a.m. on Sunday in the third place game.
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | -- | Final | |
| No. 6 University of Oregon | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | -- | 4 |
| No. 4 University of Michigan | 1 | 1 | 3 | 1 | -- | 6 |
Michigan Goals: Allison Born (2); Anne-Lise Maag; Merideth Segovia; Clio Finnegan; Diane Schroth
Oregon Goals: Lizzy Flower (3); Jeanette Lo
Saves: Michigan - Kathryn Godlewski (10) ; Oregon - Jessica Kragt (6)
Exclusions: Michigan - 2 ; Oregon - 9
Advantage Opportunities: Michigan - 2-for-9 ; Oregon - 0-for-4
Sprints: Michigan - 2-for-4 ; Oregon - 2-for-4
