Michigan water polo comes up short in CWPA final, 7-5 to Princeton
Michigan freshman Barbara Lanier warms up before the Collegiate Water Polo Association Final against Princeton on Sunday, April 28. Daniel Brenner I AnnArbor.com
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Michigan freshman Barbara Lanier warms up before the Collegiate Water Polo Association Final against Princeton on Sunday, April 28. Daniel Brenner I AnnArbor.com /calendar/photologue/photos/_UM Princeton Polo/cache/04282013_SPT_UM_Princeton_WaterPolo_DJB_0002_fullsize.JPG
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The Michigan team cheers on players in the game against Princeton on Sunday, April 28. Daniel Brenner I AnnArbor.com /calendar/photologue/photos/_UM Princeton Polo/cache/04282013_SPT_UM_Princeton_WaterPolo_DJB_0589_fullsize.JPG
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Michigan freshman Bryce Beckwith shoots and scores in the first half of the game against Princeton on Sunday, April 28. Daniel Brenner I AnnArbor.com /calendar/photologue/photos/_UM Princeton Polo/cache/04282013_SPT_UM_Princeton_WaterPolo_DJB_0058_fullsize.JPG
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The Michigan bench celebrates a score in the CWPA Final against Princeton on Sunday, April 28. Daniel Brenner I AnnArbor.com /calendar/photologue/photos/_UM Princeton Polo/cache/04282013_SPT_UM_Princeton_WaterPolo_DJB_0065_fullsize.JPG
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Michigan senior Katie Hazelrigg shoots in the game against Princeton on Sunday, April 28. Daniel Brenner I AnnArbor.com /calendar/photologue/photos/_UM Princeton Polo/cache/04282013_SPT_UM_Princeton_WaterPolo_DJB_0091_fullsize.JPG
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Princeton sophomore Kelly Gross defends a Michigan player on Sunday, April 28. Daniel Brenner I AnnArbor.com /calendar/photologue/photos/_UM Princeton Polo/cache/04282013_SPT_UM_Princeton_WaterPolo_DJB_0099_fullsize.JPG
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Michigan freshman Ali Thomason fights for control of the ball in the game against Princeton on Sunday, April 28. Daniel Brenner I AnnArbor.com /calendar/photologue/photos/_UM Princeton Polo/cache/04282013_SPT_UM_Princeton_WaterPolo_DJB_0116_fullsize.JPG
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Michigan senior goalie Alex Adamson is scored on in the first half of the game against Princeton on Sunday, April 28. Daniel Brenner I AnnArbor.com /calendar/photologue/photos/_UM Princeton Polo/cache/04282013_SPT_UM_Princeton_WaterPolo_DJB_0133_fullsize.JPG
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A Michigan player shoots in the game against Princeton on Sunday, April 28. Daniel Brenner I AnnArbor.com /calendar/photologue/photos/_UM Princeton Polo/cache/04282013_SPT_UM_Princeton_WaterPolo_DJB_0191_fullsize.JPG
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Michigan freshman Katie Allison watches the game against Princeton on Sunday, April 28. Daniel Brenner I AnnArbor.com /calendar/photologue/photos/_UM Princeton Polo/cache/04282013_SPT_UM_Princeton_WaterPolo_DJB_0641_fullsize.JPG
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Michigan basketball freshman Mitch McGary (right) and others watches the water polo Final on Sunday, April 28. Daniel Brenner I AnnArbor.com /calendar/photologue/photos/_UM Princeton Polo/cache/04282013_SPT_UM_Princeton_WaterPolo_DJB_0656_fullsize.JPG
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Michigan fan Grace Hill, 7, exits a fort made out of gymnastics mats during halftime of the game against Princeton on Sunday, April 28. Daniel Brenner I AnnArbor.com /calendar/photologue/photos/_UM Princeton Polo/cache/04282013_SPT_UM_Princeton_WaterPolo_DJB_0679_fullsize.JPG
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Michigan fan Breana Bottom, 2, hangs on rings during halftime of the game against Princeton on Sunday, April 28. Daniel Brenner I AnnArbor.com /calendar/photologue/photos/_UM Princeton Polo/cache/04282013_SPT_UM_Princeton_WaterPolo_DJB_0693_fullsize.JPG
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Michigan freshman Ali Thomason looks to shoot in the game against Princeton on Sunday, April 28. Daniel Brenner I AnnArbor.com /calendar/photologue/photos/_UM Princeton Polo/cache/04282013_SPT_UM_Princeton_WaterPolo_DJB_0205_fullsize.JPG
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Michigan freshman Presley Pender is hit in the game against Princeton on Sunday, April 28. Daniel Brenner I AnnArbor.com /calendar/photologue/photos/_UM Princeton Polo/cache/04282013_SPT_UM_Princeton_WaterPolo_DJB_0217_fullsize.JPG
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Michigan freshman Presley Pender looks to pass in the game against Princeton on Sunday, April 28. Daniel Brenner I AnnArbor.com /calendar/photologue/photos/_UM Princeton Polo/cache/04282013_SPT_UM_Princeton_WaterPolo_DJB_0230_fullsize.JPG
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Michigan freshman Presley Pender looks to pass in the game against Princeton on Sunday, April 28. Daniel Brenner I AnnArbor.com /calendar/photologue/photos/_UM Princeton Polo/cache/04282013_SPT_UM_Princeton_WaterPolo_DJB_0276_fullsize.JPG
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Michigan senior Kiki Golden shoots and makes contact with a Princeton player on Sunday, April 28. Daniel Brenner I AnnArbor.com /calendar/photologue/photos/_UM Princeton Polo/cache/04282013_SPT_UM_Princeton_WaterPolo_DJB_0282_fullsize.JPG
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Michigan junior Kelsey Nolan shoots in the game against Princeton on Sunday, April 28. Daniel Brenner I AnnArbor.com /calendar/photologue/photos/_UM Princeton Polo/cache/04282013_SPT_UM_Princeton_WaterPolo_DJB_0725_fullsize.JPG
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Michigan freshman Bryce Beckwith passes in the game against Princeton on Sunday, April 28. Daniel Brenner I AnnArbor.com /calendar/photologue/photos/_UM Princeton Polo/cache/04282013_SPT_UM_Princeton_WaterPolo_DJB_0294_fullsize.JPG
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Michigan freshman Ali Thomason looks to pass in the game against Princeton on Sunday, April 28. Daniel Brenner I AnnArbor.com /calendar/photologue/photos/_UM Princeton Polo/cache/04282013_SPT_UM_Princeton_WaterPolo_DJB_0295_fullsize.JPG
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The ball is knocked out of the hand Michigan sophomore Danielle Robinson in the game against Princeton on Sunday, April 28. Daniel Brenner I AnnArbor.com /calendar/photologue/photos/_UM Princeton Polo/cache/04282013_SPT_UM_Princeton_WaterPolo_DJB_0307_fullsize.JPG
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Michigan head coach Matt Anderson and the team react to a penalty in the fourth quarter of the game against Princeton on Sunday, April 28. Daniel Brenner I AnnArbor.com /calendar/photologue/photos/_UM Princeton Polo/cache/04282013_SPT_UM_Princeton_WaterPolo_DJB_0315_fullsize.JPG
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Michigan freshman Presley Pender scores on a penalty shot in the game against Princeton on Sunday, April 28. Daniel Brenner I AnnArbor.com /calendar/photologue/photos/_UM Princeton Polo/cache/04282013_SPT_UM_Princeton_WaterPolo_DJB_0368_fullsize.JPG
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Michigan senior Kiki Golden shoots while defended in the game against Princeton on Sunday, April 28. No penalty was called on the play. Daniel Brenner I AnnArbor.com /calendar/photologue/photos/_UM Princeton Polo/cache/04282013_SPT_UM_Princeton_WaterPolo_DJB_0376_fullsize.JPG
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Michigan senior Kiki Golden looks at a referee for a penalty call in the game against Princeton on Sunday, April 28. Daniel Brenner I AnnArbor.com /calendar/photologue/photos/_UM Princeton Polo/cache/04282013_SPT_UM_Princeton_WaterPolo_DJB_0379_fullsize.JPG
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Michigan senior Kiki Golden handles the ball in the game against Princeton on Sunday, April 28. Daniel Brenner I AnnArbor.com /calendar/photologue/photos/_UM Princeton Polo/cache/04282013_SPT_UM_Princeton_WaterPolo_DJB_0394_fullsize.JPG
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Michigan senior Lauren Colton shoots in the fourth quarter of the game against Princeton on Sunday, April 28. Daniel Brenner I AnnArbor.com /calendar/photologue/photos/_UM Princeton Polo/cache/04282013_SPT_UM_Princeton_WaterPolo_DJB_0401_fullsize.JPG
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Michigan freshman Bryce Beckwith swims back to pass in the second half of the game against Princeton on Sunday, April 28. Daniel Brenner I AnnArbor.com /calendar/photologue/photos/_UM Princeton Polo/cache/04282013_SPT_UM_Princeton_WaterPolo_DJB_0411_fullsize.JPG
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Michigan freshman Presley Pender scores late in the fourth quarter of the game against Princeton on Sunday, April 28. Daniel Brenner I AnnArbor.com /calendar/photologue/photos/_UM Princeton Polo/cache/04282013_SPT_UM_Princeton_WaterPolo_DJB_0414_fullsize.JPG
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The ball floats out of Michigan goalie Alex Adamson's reach for a goal in the fourth quarter of the game against Princeton on Sunday, April 28. Daniel Brenner I AnnArbor.com /calendar/photologue/photos/_UM Princeton Polo/cache/04282013_SPT_UM_Princeton_WaterPolo_DJB_0428_fullsize.JPG
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Michigan senior Kiki Golden shoots in the game against Princeton on Sunday, April 28. No penalty was called on the play. Daniel Brenner I AnnArbor.com /calendar/photologue/photos/_UM Princeton Polo/cache/04282013_SPT_UM_Princeton_WaterPolo_DJB_0442_fullsize.JPG
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The Michigan team reacts to losing to Princeton in the CWPA Final on Sunday, April 28. Daniel Brenner I AnnArbor.com /calendar/photologue/photos/_UM Princeton Polo/cache/04282013_SPT_UM_Princeton_WaterPolo_DJB_0450_fullsize.JPG
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Princeton head coach Luis Nicolao celebrates winning the CWPA Final in the pool with his players on Sunday, April 28. Daniel Brenner I AnnArbor.com /calendar/photologue/photos/_UM Princeton Polo/cache/04282013_SPT_UM_Princeton_WaterPolo_DJB_0506_fullsize.JPG
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The Michigan team reacts to losing to Princeton in the CWPA Final on Sunday, April 28. Daniel Brenner I AnnArbor.com /calendar/photologue/photos/_UM Princeton Polo/cache/04282013_SPT_UM_Princeton_WaterPolo_DJB_0540_fullsize.JPG
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A Michigan storm trooper walks in a hallway after the game against Princeton on Sunday, April 28. Daniel Brenner I AnnArbor.com /calendar/photologue/photos/_UM Princeton Polo/cache/04282013_SPT_UM_Princeton_WaterPolo_DJB_0761_fullsize.JPG
An unlikely comeback Saturday night put the Michigan women’s water polo team in position to take a conference tournament title in its home pool, and earn a trip back to the NCAA tournament.
A day later, another comeback wasn’t in the cards.
Michigan saw its season end with a 7-5 loss to Princeton in Sunday’s CWPA tournament final at Canham Natatorium.
“I really expected that game to go to overtime,” Michigan coach Matt Anderson said. “But unfortunately we had a couple of looks that we weren’t able to finish.”
After trailing from early in the second quarter on, the Wolverines cut the deficit to one goal with 43 seconds left. But with a 35-second shot clock and Princeton in a stall, Michigan had to press and try to force a turnover on the ensuing possession. That allowed Princeton to get open for a point-blank shot and a goal.
“We would have seven seconds to try to advance the ball, and it’s not like basketball where you’re going to get a clean look at the cage,” Anderson said “It was just a breakdown on our end.”
Sunday marked Michigan’s eighth CWPA tournament title game in Anderson’s 11 years at the helm. Four times, Michigan has won that championship game and advanced to the NCAA tournament, including three straight from 2008-10.
The loss means Michigan will be out of the NCAA tournament for the third straight year, but Anderson said he doesn’t look at it as a drought.
“Two of the last three years we’ve lost in a championship game and last year we lost with zero seconds on the clock in a semifinal, to me that’s not a drought,” Anderson said. “Take away that last goal, and we’re two goals away from having two more NCAA appearances in the last three years.”
The loss came a day after Michigan came from behind in the fourth quarter to top No. 1 seed Indiana, 6-5, in a semifinal game. The Wolverines scored two goals 17 seconds apart in the fourth quarter of that game to score the win.
Michigan carried that momentum into Sunday’s final, going up by two goals early in the first.
But after that, Anderson said his team went away from what had been successful and started taking low-percentage shots from the outside. Princeton went on a 6-1 run and held Michigan without a goal for more than two full quarters.
“You try and shoot the ball over a person that is covering the space, like in basketball, not going to work,” Anderson said. “You move around and move laterally, it’s going to be successful, and we weren’t able to do that enough.”
Yet for a moment Sunday, it looked like Michigan might be able to pull off another late comeback. Going into the fourth quarter down three, Michigan held Princeton scoreless, and made it a two-goal game on a penalty shot with six minutes left.
But Princeton goaltender Ashleigh Johnson, later named the tournament’s top rookie, made several of her 15 saves down the stretch to stymie Michigan.
“Our shot selection definitely could have been better,” senior Kiki Golden said. “We needed to put some more on the water. We kept shooting high.”
Freshman Presley Pender led Michigan with three goals Sunday.
Michigan’s season finale put the cap on what was an up-and-down seaso. The Wolverines started the year 4-10 against tough, mostly West Coast competition, before reeling off 10 straight wins in the middle of its season. Only six Wolverines played in every game as the team battled injuries.
But Anderson said his five-member senior class took a team-first attitude and led the Wolverines to the doorstep of another NCAA berth.
“They always wanted to win for Michigan,” Anderson said. “And it took some teammates a while and some teammates still haven’t understood that that is ultimately what it comes down to, but these five seniors have understood it better than any of my 11 senior classes that it’s about playing for Michigan and nothing else.”
Kyle Austin covers sports for AnnArbor.com. He can be reached at kyleaustin@annarbor.com or 734-623-2535. Follow him on Twitter @KAustin_AA.