No. 6 Michigan Rolls No. 3 Hawaii, Falls to No. 2 USC at Stanford Invitational

Leah Robertson

PALO ALTO, Calif. -- Senior Leah Robertson (Newport Beach, Calif./Newport Harbor) scored the golden goal for No. 6-ranked University of Michigan water polo team to knock off No. 3-ranked the University of Hawaii, 11-10, in sudden-victory overtime to claim fifth place at the Stanford Invitational Sunday (Feb. 7) at Avery Stadium. Earlier in the day, U-M fell to No. 2-ranked the University of Southern California, 14-6, in Baker Pool. The Maize and Blue victory over the Rainbow Wahine marks the first win over a top-three opponent in program history.

Inside the final minute of the first sudden-victory period, junior Lauren Orth (Poway, Calif./Poway) lobbed a pass in down low where Robertson narrowly outreached the Hawaii goalkeeper and a defender to the ball and flicked it over the goalie's shoulder into the back of the cage to secure the victory.

Sophomore Morgan Turner (Mission Viejo, Calif./Trabuco Hills) came in off the bench for the second period and made 11 saves in the historic victory. Junior Alison Mantel (Miami, Fla./Gulliver) scored four times, including one in overtime as part of a six-goal afternoon, while Orth tallied a playmaker (three assists) and freshman Kiki Golden (Danville, Calif./Monte Vista) had five steals against the Rainbow Wahine .

Michigan's road to the historic victory was not an easy one as it took overcoming a sizeable early deficit, two five-meter goals and a last-second goal in overtime. Hawaii built a big lead through the first half to go into the break ahead 6-2 even though U-M had generated four breakaways in the opening two frames. The Wolverines comeback began in Ernst in the fourth period with a 9-5 deficit to overcome.

Freshman Lauren Colton (Tustin, Calif./Tesoro) was called off the bench twice in the fourth period to convert five-meter penalty shots, sandwiching goals around a Mantel marker to pull the Wolverines to within one goal at 9-8. Mantel then forced overtime with 47 seconds remaining, ringing a shot off two bars before it settled into the net. Hawaii took a 10-9 lead in the first overtime stanza and as the clock neared zero on the second extra frame, Mantel was again on the spot. After Golden drew a foul up top, she passed to an open Mantel, who fired a shot through the goalies arms into the twine to tie the game and put U-M on its final course with history in the next OT period.

Michigan scuffled out of the gate against Southern Cal, falling behind 6-1 in the first period. Mantel got the lone U-M goal, depositing a bullet into the high corner from up top. The Trojans extended their lead to 10-4 in the second period, which included a sparkling counterattack goal for Michigan by Golden off a pass from junior Keller Felt (La Jolla, Calif./La Jolla). USC extended its lead to 14-4 with four unanswered goals in the third stanza. In the fourth stanza, junior Ryley Plunkett (Modesto, Calif./Johansen) went bar down and sophomore Roxanne Mansfield (San Mateo, Calif./St. Francis) scored inside the final minute, but it was not enough to overcome the deficit.

The Wolverines will head east for the Princeton Invitational on Saturday and Sunday (Feb. 20-21) in Princeton, N.J. The Maize and Blue will open with the host Tigers at 11:20 a.m. on Saturday (Feb. 20) before facing off with CWPA-rival Hartwick at 6:30 p.m. Day two (Sunday, Feb. 21) will feature Harvard at 8 a.m. followed by Wagner at 12:40 p.m.

GAME SUMMARIES

Michigan Goals: Kiki Golden 2, Alison Mantel 2, Roxanne Mansfield, Ryley Plunkett.
USC Goals: Forel Davies 3, Joelle Bekhazi 2, Nadia Dan 2, Sarah Van Norman 2, Kami Craig, Kristen Dronberger, Kara-Leigh Huse, Kally Lucas, Dominque Sardo.
Saves: Michigan - 3 (Alex Adamson 2, Brittany May 1) ; USC - 8 (Tumua Anae)
Ejections: Michigan - 7; USC - 7

Michigan Goals: Alison Mantel 4, Leah Robertson 3, Lauren Colton 2, Keller Felt, Cara Reitz.
Hawaii Goals: Leonie van der Molen 3, Carmen Eggens 2, Dagmar Genee 2, Monika Eggens, Amarens Genee, Saara Majuri.
Saves: Michigan -  11 (Brittany May 0, Morgan Turner 11); Hawaii -  7 (Serena Bredin)
Ejections: Michigan - 4, Hawaii - 4

Release courtesy Michigan Athletic Communications