TUCSON, Arizona — Goalie Nathaniel Schmidt (Sr., Berkeley, Calif.) stopped 11 shots to notch Player of the Game recognition as No. 1-ranked/Pacific Coast Division Champion California Polytechnic State University took down No. 1/Sierra Pacific Division Champion the University of California, 10-8, in the Third Place game of the 2018 Men’s National Collegiate Club Championship hosted at the University of Arizona’s Student Recreation Center.
A five-time National Champion (1999, 2001, 2002, 2004, 2007) with runner-up finishes in 2003, 2006 and 2008, the Mustangs never trailed against the Golden Bears as Cal Poly opened up a 3-0 lead by the end of the first quarter and entered halftime with a 5-1 margin.
However, California refused to return to Berkeley without a fight.
Down 6-1 with 4:59 left in the third quarter following a tally by Will Peterson (Sr., Sacramento, Calif.), the Golden Bears bared their claws as Sam Naugle (Jr., Roseville, Calif.) (4:46), Nate Conger (Fr., Encinitas, Calif.) (3:21) and Matt Klein (Sr., Pasadena, Calif.) (2:59) swished even-strength markers before Noah Martin (Jr., Carlsbad, Calif.) converted on a man-up chance with 10 seconds on the clock to move California within 6-5 going into the fourth quarter.
Jared Schaner (So., Valley Center, Calif.) provided the Mustangs some breathing room as he sliced in a shot for a natural goal at 6:19 to build Cal Poly’s lead to a pair at 7-5. Jackson Hettler (Jr., Mill Valley, Calif.) returned Cal’s deficit to one by burying a shot at 6:02, but a five-meter penalty shot by Cole Carroll (Sr., San Diego, Calif.) at 5:41 again provided Cal Poly at two-goal lead at 8-6.
Following a strike by Noah Feingold (Sr., Palos Verdes, Calif.) at 4:41 to again move the Golden Bears within one at 8-7, Cal Poly pulled away as Harrison Woods (Sr., Fresno, Calif.) and Gavin Griffin (Jr., Beicia, Calif.) stuffed in natural markers at 2:56 and 1:43, respectively, to make it a 10-7 game.
California closed the gap down to 10-8 before the final buzzer as Thomas Lane (Sr., Rigetti, Calif.) cashed in on a man-up chance with eight seconds left.
For Cal Poly, Peterson, Carroll and Jacob Roberts (Jr., Orange, Calif.) led the way with pairs of goals, while Griffin, Schaner, Jacob Banner (So., Valley Center, Calif.) and Woods each added solo scores in support of Schmidt.
The Golden Bears, who add a Fourth Place finish to their legacy that includes previous Second (2012), Third (2013, 2014, 2015), Fifth (2017) and Sixth (2016) Place marks, eight different players scored once as Feingold, Martin, Hettler, Matt Presten (So., Lafayette, Calif.), Klein, Conger, Naugle and Lane put away shots. Carter Chan (Jr., Orinda, Calif.) stopped seven shots in suffering the loss, while Brandon Byrne (Fr., Riverside, Calif.) made two stops in the waning moments of the game.
| 1st Q | 2nd Q | 3rd Q | 4th Q | – | FINAL | |
| University of California | 0 | 1 | 4 | 3 | – | 8 |
| California Polytechnic State University | 3 | 2 | 1 | 4 | – | 10 |
| Cal Poly Goals: | Cole Carroll (2); Will Peterson (2); Jacob Roberts (2); Jacob Banner; Harrison Woods; Gavin Griffin; Jared Schaner | |||||
| California Goals: | Noah Feingold; Noah Martin; Jackson Hettler; Mark Presten; Matt Klein; Nate Conger; Sam Naugle; Thomas Lane | |||||
| Saves: | Cal Poly – Nathaniel Schmidt (11) ; California – Carter Chan (7), Brandon Byrne (2) | |||||
| Exclusions: | Cal Poly – 14 ; California – 11 | |||||
| Advantage Opportunities: | Cal Poly – 2-for-11 ; California – 3-for-14 | |||||
| Sprints: | Cal Poly – 2-for-4 (3rd, 4th) ; California – 2-for-4 (1st, 4th) | |||||
| Cards/Misconducts: | YC – California (Bench, 2:12 left in 1st Q) | |||||
| Officials: | Scott Krasinski, Bruce Morehouse | |||||
California Polytechnic State University’s Joe Schaner (#20)
University of California’s Oliver Ma (#5)
California Polytechnic State University’s Cole Carroll (#6) defends the University of California’s Jackson Hettler (#8)
California Polytechnic State University’s Harrison Woods (#13) points to the crowd in pregame introductions
