Michigan Falls to No. 12 Indiana in Rivalry Showdown
By: Sydney Miller
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- The No. 16-ranked University of Michigan water polo team came up short in a hard-fought rivalry matchup, falling 14-11 to No. 12 Indiana on Saturday afternoon (April 19) at the Counsilman Billingsley Aquatic Center.
Junior Issy Jackson led the Wolverines with a well-rounded performance, recording two goals and two assists. Ashley O'Neill provided a spark in the second quarter with a pair of goals, while both Kasey Umlauf and Brooke Ingram added two scores apiece to help power the Michigan offense.
Indiana (17-10) jumped out to a quick lead with back-to-back goals in the first two minutes of play. Michigan (17-10) responded with a penalty goal from Ingram at 4:25 to make it 2-1. The Hoosiers answered quickly with three more goals to close the quarter ahead 4-1.
Michigan erupted for five goals in the second quarter, starting with quick strikes from O'Neill and Matilda Waugh in the opening minute to cut the deficit to 4-3. After Indiana briefly extended its lead, the Wolverines answered with goals from Lulu Hirschfield, O'Neill, and Jackson to level the score at 6-6. However, the Hoosiers regained momentum, netting two goals in the final three minutes to take an 8-6 lead into halftime.
In the third period, O'Neill drew an exclusion early, but the Wolverines were unable to capitalize before Indiana made it 10-6. Umlauf scored Michigan's lone goal at 4:52 to bring the deficit to three. U-M was unable to generate any man-advantage opportunities and entered the final frame down 11-7.
The Maize and Blue closed strong in the fourth, with goals from Sophia Panossian, Jackson, and Umlauf narrowing the gap to 14-10. Ingram added one just before the buzzer, but the Wolverines couldn't complete the comeback as Indiana sealed the 14-11 victory.
Up next, Michigan turns its focus to the postseason as it heads to Providence, R.I., for the CWPA Championship at Brown University. The third-seeded Wolverines will open tournament play against No. 6 seed St. Francis on Friday (April 25) at 6 p.m. at the Katherine Moran Coleman Aquatics Center. The contest can be streamed on ESPN+.
