CARLISLE, Pa. — Tyler Patay scored with 1:05 left in the fourth quarter for the deciding blow – and his team’s lone lead of the contest – as Rocky Mountain Division Champion/No. 19-ranked the University of Colorado had the luck of the Irish on their side in stopping Great Lakes Division Champion/No. 19 the University of Notre Dame, 8-7, in the final first round game of the 2025 Men’s National Collegiate Club Championship at the Carlisle YMCA Aquatic Center.
The 1997 National Collegiate Club Championship runner-up, Colorado advances to the tournament quarterfinals where the Buffaloes will face Southwest Division Champion/No. 1 the University of California-San Diego at 9:00 a.m. Eastern with a spot in the semifinals at stake. A 13-time National Championship tournament qualifier with prior Second (1997), Fifth (2016), Sixth (2023), Seventh (2001, 2014, 2021), Eighth (2010, 2023), Ninth (2015, 2024), 11th (2017) and 12th (2008) place marks at the event, Colorado is guaranteed to finish no lower than Eighth Place in the final 2025 championship standings.
Notre Dame – which hosted the 2004 and 2016 Men’s National Collegiate Club Championships and holds 13th (2004) and 11th (2016, 2019) place finishes in the program’s three prior trips to the tournament – will return to the water at 9:50 p.m. tonight in the 12th and final game on Day One of the 2025 championship as the Irish will face parochial foe/Mid-Atlantic Division Championship runner-up Villanova University. The loser of the game will see their season come to a close at 8:40 p.m. on Saturday, November 8, in a 13th/15th place game, while the victor locks up an appearance on Sunday, November 9, in either the Ninth or 11th Place games.
Notre Dame dominated the game for 27 of the contest’s 28 minutes until Patay inflicted the game-winner against the Irish.
Zachary Jones (So., Bellaire, Texas) and Nate Pennington (Jr., Dayton, Ohio) tickled the twine at 5:35 and 3:16, respectively, in the first quarter to stake Notre Dame to a 2-0 lead before Ryan Bannon spun in a Colorado answer with 2:15 on the clock to make it a 2-1 contest after seven minutes of action.
Peter Youssef (Sr., Westfield, N.J.) (6:05, man-up) and Owen Helenski (Fr., Conshohocken, Pa.) (5:17, penalty shot) padded the Irish’s lead to 4-1, but Chase King delivered for Colorado (3:28) to inch the Buffaloes within a pair at 4-2 before Jones lined in a penalty shot with no time left on the second quarter clock to make it a 5-2 game entering halftime.
Michael Skale insulated Notre Dame’s lead to 6-2 at the 5:38 mark of the third quarter, but Bannon (4:17, penalty shot; 3:54), and Patay (1:36) put Colorado back in the game with a trio of tallies to shrink the Buffaloes’ deficit to 6-5.
Helenski (1:21) and Patay (38 seconds, man-up) traded scoring blows in the waning seconds of the third quarter to set the scoreboard at 7-6 in favor of Notre Dame with the fourth quarter on the horizon.
Bannon – who earned Player of the Game recognition – buried a five-meter penalty shot with 1:37 left in the fourth quarter to knot the teams at seven-all before Patay swished the terminal strike 32 seconds later at 1:05 to put a capstone on Colorado’s come-from-behind victory.
For Notre Dame, Helenski and Jones both scored twice, while Youssef, Pennington and Skale chipped in solo strikes. Goalkeeper Thomas Lercari (Gr., Rancho Palos Verdes, Calif.) turned aside 12 shots.
Bannon (four) and Patay (three) accounted for 7/8ths of Colorado’s offense with King notching a single tally. Austin Dale earned the win guarding the pipes with seven saves.
| 1st Q | 2nd Q | 3rd Q | 4th Q | – | FINAL | |
| No. 19 University of Colorado | 1 | 1 | 4 | 2 | – | 8 |
| No. 19 University of Notre Dame | 2 | 3 | 2 | 0 | – | 7 |
| Notre Dame Goals: | Owen Helenski (2); Zachary Jones (2); Peter Youssef; Nate Pennington; Michael Skale | |||||
| Colorado Goals: | Ryan Bannon (4); Tyler Patay (3); Chase King | |||||
| Saves: | Notre Dame – Thomas Lercari (12); Colorado – Austin Dale (7) | |||||
| Exclusions: | Notre Dame – 6 ; Colorado – 6 | |||||
| Advantage Opportunities: | Notre Dame – 3-for-6 ; Colorado – 3-for-6 | |||||
| Sprints: | Notre Dame – 0-for-4; Colorado – 4-for-4 | |||||
| Cards/Misconducts: | None | |||||
| Officials: | Chad Quinn, Kevin Jauregui | |||||
The University of Colorado’s Kaden Duran (#13) seeks an opening as the University of Notre Dame’s Connor Burke (#3) defends
University of Notre Dame’s Thomas Lercari (#1)
The University of Colorado’s Matteo Petty (#10) & the University of Notre Dame’s Connor Burke (#3)
