April 10, 2009
SAN DIEGO - The No. 7 San Diego State water polo team dropped a 9-8 overtime decision to the 13th-ranked Wolverines on Friday afternoon. With the loss, the Scarlet and Black drop to 20-9 on the season, while Michigan improves to 25-8.
Junior Ronni Gautschi led the Aztec attack with two goals, while junior Melissa de Jonckheere, senior Anna Gonzales, freshman Kimmy Keach, junior co-captain Danielle Pelke and senior co-captain Jenna Schuster each tallied one goal. Freshman Kelly Campoli recorded 15 saves in front of the cage.
San Diego State got off to a fast start to open the game with Gautschi getting one under Michigan goalkeeper Brittany May's arms at the 5:24 mark. Schuster found the back of the net off a pass from senior Erin Lester just under a minute later. Sophomore Brooke Vessey found the back of the net to put the Aztecs up 3-0 halfway through the first frame after Gautschi passed the ball back out to her for the outside shot. Gonzales would score SDSU's fourth goal of the first period at the 1:53 mark when the pass from Pelke was nice enough to connect. Michigan finally got on the board with 1:16 to play in the first frame. Gonzales was ejected and Michigan took advantage of the power play opportunity and a rebound when Terri Bukofzer put one past Campoli, closing the gap to 4-1 at the end of the first quarter.
Michigan wasted no time cutting the deficit in the second quarter as the Wolverines score three unanswered goals to open the second frame. Ryley Plunkett scored on a lob shot from outside just 1:18 into the quarter. Keller Felt would bar in for a score, while Lauren Orth would convert a power play opportunity to tie the score at 4-4 with just over three minutes to play before the break. Michigan continued to ride the shift in momentum as Orth would score her second goal of the quarter on a penalty shot, but Pelke would connect the equalizer with a bar in goal with 1:20 to go. The Scarlet and Black looked to go ahead before intermission when Lester stole the ball, but Gautschi could not get a shot off before the halftime buzzer.
Third quarter action would be mostly defensive as neither team would score until the 1:24 mark. Julie Hyrne scored the first goal of the second half to give Michigan a one-goal advantage. San Diego State would tie the game up again, this time when de Jonckheere connected on a crosscourt pass from Gonzales with five seconds remaining in the third quarter.
Michigan looked like it would take the early lead in the fourth quarter when SDSU goalkeeper Campoli was ejected with 5:56 to play in regulation. The Aztecs immediately made a wall in front of the goal and blocked the Wolverine shot. Gautschi would score the go-ahead goal with 2:10 to play after a nice entry pass from Keach allowed her to make a turn and get the shot off. Michigan's Mantel would once again tie the game, finding the back of the net with just under two minutes to play. The final minute of the game would have two time outs called by each team, but no one would score in the final minute, sending the game into overtime with the score tied at seven.
In the first overtime period, Michigan would score quickly when Meagan Cobb connected on a backhand shot at the 2:44 mark. The Wolverines looked poised to take a two goal lead, but Hyrne's five-meter penalty shot at the 1:14 mark would miss wide.
The second overtime would allow the Aztecs the final minutes needed to tie the game back up. Lester would draw an ejection and Michigan's Mantel would head to the corner for the 20 second exclusion. After a timeout called by SDSU, the freshman Keach would convert the 6-5 opportunity with 32 seconds remaining. Orth would attempt to win the game in the final seconds, but her shot would end up being wide. With the score knotted at eight, the Scarlet and Black would head into a sudden victory overtime period.
It would take almost the entire three minutes of the third overtime period before a goal would be scored. Cobb would score her second goal of the game, and her second in overtime, with 12 seconds left on the clock to give the Wolverines the overtime victory.
San Diego State will return to the pool tomorrow afternoon as they play host to the eighth-ranked Arizona State Sun Devils in each team's final Mountain Pacific Sports Federation regular season contest. Game time is set for noon PT on Saturday, April 11, at the Aztec Aquaplex.
No. 13 Michigan 9, No. 7 San Diego State 8 (Sudden Victory Overtime)
April 10, 2009 - Aztec Aquaplex
Michigan 1-4-1-1-1-0-1 - 9
San Diego State 4-1-1-1-0-1-0 - 8
Michigan goals: Cobb 2, Mantel 2, Orth 2, Bukofzer, Felt, Plunkett.
SDSU goals: Gautschi 2, de Jonckheere, Gonzales, Keach, Pelke, Schuster, Vessey.
Michigan goal saves: May 3 (first half), Turner 7 (second half and OT)
SDSU goal saves: Campoli 15