PITTSBURGH, Pa. — Nathan Craig (Sr., Friendswood, Texas) scored four goals and the duo of Alex Raterink (Jr., Friendswood, Texas) and Easton Honaker (Jr., Dallas, Texas) both tacked on hat-tricks with three tallies as Texas Division Champion/No. 11-ranked the University of Texas defeated Great Lakes Division Champion the University of Notre Dame, 12-9, to earn a spot in the 2019 Men’s National Collegiate Club Championship Ninth Place game.
- The Longhorns will return to the pool at 2:15 p.m on Sunday, November 17, against New England Division Champion/No. 11 Boston College for Ninth Place. The game will pit the two teams ranked at No. 11 in the last Men’s Collegiate Club Top 20 Poll as Texas and Boston College will determine in the water – rather than on paper – which team is the best.
- Due to the loss, Notre Dame will square-off with New York Division Champion the United States Military Academy – which dropped a 13-7 game to Boston College to determine the other half of two placement games – at 3:30 p.m. on November 17 for 11th Place in the 30th and final game of the 16-team, three-day championship .
- Texas trailed only once against Notre Dame as James Plaschke (Fr., Atherton, Calif.) put the Irish ahead 1-0 with 5:04 left in the first quarter.
- From there, Texas took command of the contest as Honaker pulled the Longhorns even with a man-up strike at 4:29 to make it one-all at the conclusion of the first quarter.
- Back-to-back goals by Craig (5:34) and Honaker (4:14) to open the second quarter pushed Texas into the lead for good as the team acquired a 3-1 margin. Notre Dame chipped its deficit back to one at 3-2 (3:26) and 4-3 (1:56), but Raterink closed out the first half with a man-up conversion with 17 seconds left to put Texas back in front by a pair at 5-3.
- Notre Dame again shrank its deficit down to one as Chris Kreienkamp (Sr., St. Louis, Mo.) delivered a goal with 6:17 left in the third quarter. However, Texas gained some breathing room as Mitchell Kim (Sr., Los Angeles, Calif.) scored a five-meter penalty shot (5:59) and a natural goal (4:10) before Jason Juliette (Jr., Houston, Texas) cashed in on a man-up chance (3:36) to build the Longhorns’ lead to 8-4.
- Notre Dame moved back to within a pair as Kreienkamp (3:24, even-strength) and Tait McGlinn (Sr., Malvern, Pa.) (2:17, man-up) went back-to-back to shrink the margin down to 8-6.
- Once again, Texas responded to a Notre Dame run as Craig (1:57, even-strength) and Honaker (penalty shot, 38 seconds) got both goals back prior to the conclusion of the third quarter to make it a 10-6 game with seven minutes left to play.
- Craig and Raterink sealed the win as the duo deposited natural scores with 6:40 and 5:07 on the fourth quarter clock to double-up Texas at 12-6. Notre Dame attempted one final push as Kreienkamp (2:00, 1:23) and Francis McCarter (So., LaGrange Park, Ill.) (35 seconds) combined for back-to-back-to-back tallies, but Texas’ lead was too great as the Longhorns claimed a 12-9 win.
- For Notre Dame – which has previously finished 13th (2004) and 11th (2016) at the Men’s National Collegiate Club Championship – Kreienkamp led the way with four goals. McCarter, McGlinn, Matthew Dotson (So., Pleasanton, Calif.) and Plaschke each accounted for single markers.
- In cage, Brennan O’Brien (So., New Lenox, Ill.) made eight saves in taking the loss. Texas’ Aidan Rossiter (Sr., Orinda, Calif.) also made eight saves to collect the win.
- Kim and Juliette posted single goals for the Longhorns to join Craig, Raterink and Honaker in the scoring column.
- In the history of the Men’s National Collegiate Club Championship, Texas has previously finished Second (2010, 2017), Third (2012), Sixth (2005, 2009, 2014, 2018), Eighth (2013, 2015), 11th (2004) and 13th (2003) as the team will have a chance to add another Top 10 finish to its resume against Boston College.
| 1st Q | 2nd Q | 3rd Q | 4th Q | – | FINAL | |
| No. 11 University of Texas | 1 | 4 | 5 | 2 | – | 12 |
| University of Notre Dame | 1 | 2 | 3 | 3 | – | 9 |
| Notre Dame Goals: | Chris Kreienkamp (5); Francis McCarter; Tait McGlinn; Matthew Dotson; James Plaschke | |||||
| Texas Goals: | Nathan Craig (4); Alex Raterink (3); Easton Honaker (3); Mitchell Kim; Jason Juliette | |||||
| Saves: | Notre Dame – Brennan O’Brien (8) ; Texas – Aidan Rossiter (8) | |||||
| Exclusions: | Notre Dame – 15 ; Texas – 6 | |||||
| Advantage Opportunities: | Notre Dame – 2-for-6 ; Texas – 5-for-15 | |||||
| Sprints: | Notre Dame – 2-for-4 (1st, 2nd) ; Texas – 2-for-4 (3rd, 4th) | |||||
| Cards/Misconducts: | None | |||||
| Officials: | Martin Murray; Greg Sanchez | |||||
The University of Texas’ Easton Honaker (#2) defends the University of Notre Dame’s Patrick Heffernan (#2)
The University of Notre Dame’s Matthew Dotson (#12) attempts to find a way around the University of Texas’ Han Chen (#13)
The University of Texas’ Jason Juliette (#8) scans the field as the University of Notre Dame’s Chris Kreienkamp (#5) closes in
