When the No. 16 Michigan water polo team lost to No. 17 Indiana on St. Patrick's Day, coach Matt Anderson was flabbergasted.

But Anderson kept his exasperation to a minimum after the 6-5 loss to the Hoosiers on Saturday at the Fluid Five Challenge in Bloomington, blaming this loss on fatigue, not necessarily the lack of offense.

Michigan (6-1 CWPA, 21-9 overall) went 2-1 on the weekend, beating Marist, 7-1, and Wagner, 12-11.

In the final game of the tournament, the Wolverines capitalized on the power play, scoring four times. Michigan tied the game with less than two minutes remaining off a goal from senior Megan Hausmann. Unfortunately, the Hoosiers immediately turned the tide in their own direction, scoring the game-winner just 30 seconds later. But the loss wasn't the defense's fault.

Since the opening tournament of the season where the Wolverines went 6-0, they have failed to match the same offensive domination. They scored 63 points in those six games.

Michigan posted 11 goals against Indiana in the first game of the season, but the Wolverines have scored just nine in their two contests against the Hoosiers since then.

Luck, according to Anderson, seemed to play a big part in the success of the offense, especially at the end of the game. Hausmann had two opportunities to tie the game in the closing seconds, both of which missed.

"We missed the (two shots at the end because) one (of the shots) hit bar and the other went right on to the top of the net," Anderson said. "There were portions of the game where we struggled, but overall aspect of some of the shots not going in, well that just happens. Compared to last weekend, I think it was just a case of, 'We were struggling shooting.' "

Shooting struggles for the Wolverines were not isolated to last weekend's game against Indiana. Michigan also failed to score a single goal against No. 7 San Diego State in a 13-0 loss on March 19.

With 18 freshmen, Hausmann admitted, inexperience played a huge role in the loss.

"We're very young," Hausmann said. "And it's a long season. We're still learning to play with each other."

Along with junior Shana Welch and Hausmann, one freshman has consistently found the back of the net, offering a beacon of hope for the struggling offense. The youngest member of the offensive trio, Julie Hyrne scored in both the game against Indiana and Wagner. Hyrne also recorded a hat trick against the Hoosier at the Wolverine Invite earlier in the season.

"She's gotten a lot more confident," said Welch. "Just looking at the stats you can see the difference she has made in our offense. She's come a long way and she's got a long way to go."

Now, over halfway through the season, the Wolverines are looking at where they want to go. The game was just a reflection of the intensity present in every Michigan-Indiana water polo game.

"This was another classic Michigan-Indiana battle to the very end," Anderson said. "And we've obviously been on the good side of 18 of them, and we've been on the bad side of four of them. But by no means is the series that one sided, because all the games have all come down to the last couple of minutes."