UCLA
Michigan
No. 3 UCLA Tops No. 8 Michigan, Fresno Pacific
January 20, 2018 | Women's Water Polo
SANTA BARBARA, Calif. – The No. 3 UCLA women's water polo team endured a test from No. 8 Michigan Saturday morning before blitzing Fresno Pacific in afternoon action at the UCSB Winter Invitational.
In a game that was knotted at just two apiece after 16 minutes, Maddie Musselman capped a late scoring flurry to give the Bruins a 5-4 win. UCLA needed all 11 saves from Carlee Kapana in her return to the cage. In their second game of the day, the Bruins held a 7-0 lead over the Sunbirds at the end of one and never looked back en route to a 21-4 victory.
Musselman got scoring started in the UCSB Invite's first game of the day, connecting on a penalty shot with 6:42 left in the opening frame. The Wolverines' Maddy Steere proved to be a thorn in the side of the Bruins, beginning when she notched her first tying score (4:43). Michigan would soon take its first lead of the game at 3:46 on a scoring strike from Maddy Johnson. UCLA's Lizette Rozeboom went on to capitalize on a six-on-five opportunity at 1:17, giving the Bruins what would be the game's final score until the third quarter.
Bronte Halligan broke the scoring spell after the half to retake the lead for UCLA (5:56). Kelsey Blacker would give the Bruins some wiggle room with a goal that served to double up the Wolverines at 4-2.
Steere answered Musselman's penalty shot with one of her own in the fourth, cutting the Wolverines deficit in half with 4:35 remaining. She added one more to complete the hat trick and tie the game less than two minutes later. At 2:07 of the final quarter, however, Musselman found the back of the net to give the Bruins a lead it would not relinquish. Kapana racked up seven saves in the second half, including four in the game's final eight minutes.
It didn't take long for the Bruins to get on the board in its afternoon contest, as Bronte Halligan scored at 7:29 of the opening frame. She added her second just over one minute later and Nicole Reynolds, Roxy Wheaton and Musselman followed suit to give the Bruins a 5-0 lead less than midway through the first. Sheldon added one from the center position and Grab notched her first of the day as the first quarter neared its completion.
The Bruins struck quickly again in the second, with Reego doing the honors (7:43). FPU's Hannah Gish got the Sunbirds on the board soon after, but it would not signal any change in momentum. Rozeboom scored the first of her four at 6:53 before Halligan completed her hat trick soon after (6:10). Brooke Maxson, Emily Skelly and Louise Hazell each tallied her first of the day before Rozeboom beat the buzzer to give the Bruins a 14-1 halftime lead.
Sheldon and Rozeboom scored in the first 1:01 of the second half before the Sunbirds ran off three goals in a row. Allison Wieseler's strike with 0:32 left sent the Bruins to the final quarter up 17-4.
Reego (5:23), Rozeboom (3:11), Sheldon (2:26 and Hazell (1:41) would complete the scoring for both teams in the fourth. Goalkeeper Jahmea Bent (three saves), who took over for Hannah Storum (four) at the half, did not surrender a goal in the final frame.
The Bruins will complete their time at the UCSB Winter Invitational Sunday, when they take on No. 19 UC Santa Barbara (10:30 a.m.) and No. 16 UC San Diego (2:00 p.m.).
No. 3 UCLA 5, No. 8 Michigan 4
No. 3 UCLA (2, 0, 2, 1 – 5)
GOALS: Musselman – 2; Blacker, Halligan, Rozeboom – 1
No. 8 Michigan (2, 0, 0, 2 – 4)
GOALS: Steere – 3; Johnson 1
No. 3 UCLA 21, Fresno Pacific 4
No. 3 UCLA (7, 7, 3, 4 – 21)
GOALS: Rozeboom – 4; Halligan, Sheldon – 3; Hazell, Reego – 2; Grab, Maxson, Musselman, Reynolds, Skelly, Wheaton, Wieseler – 1
Fresno Pacific (0, 1, 3, 0 – 4)
GOALS: Dinis, Gish, Knowles, Mangrum – 1
