KEARNS, Utah — Alex Brett (Sr. Los Altos, Calif.), Wyatt Spalding (Fr., New Albany, Ohio) and Ethan Thunell (So., Holladay, Utah) each scored four times to share Player of the Game status as Rocky Mountain Division runner-up/host the University of Utah stymied Missouri Valley Division Champion/No. 13-ranked McKendree University, 19-10, in the final consolation game on Day One of the 2023 Men’s National Collegiate Club Championship at the Kearns Oquirrh Park Fitness Center.
Thanks to the win, Utah advances to a 1:40 p.m, Mountain clash on Saturday, November 11, with Atlantic Division Champion the University of Virginia with a spot in the 16-team championship tournament’s Ninth Place game on the line. A loss to the Cavaliers will drop the Utes into the 11th Place game.
For McKendree, the loss means the Bearcats’ season will come to a close at 8:40 p.m. on Saturday, November 11, as the team will seek to claim a 13th/15th Place game against Texas Division Champion/No. 8 Baylor University. The winner of the game ties for 13th place and the loser ties for 15th. Due to time constraints, the 13th-to-16th positions are not played out in the conventional Collegiate Club Championship bracket.
Utah was never challenged in the game as the Utes opened up a 3-0 lead in the first three minutes of the first quarter and never looked back in outscoring McKendree 6-2, 4-1 and 7-4 in the first, second and third quarters, respectively, prior to the Bearcats holding a 3-2 scoring margin in the fourth quarter.
Tanner Jones (Sr., Danville, Calif.) added a pair of goals for Utah in the win, while Greysen Gaderson (Fr., Austin, Texas), William Bennett (So., Orange, Calif.), Andrew Shaw (So., Magna, Utah), Tate Tetreault (Fr.., Hermosa Beach, Calif.) and Rye Thelan (Fr., Portland, Ore.) racked up solo markers in support of netminder Forrest Coughenour (Jr., Park City, Utah).
Brody Loftin (Fr., Houston, Texas) (four), Xander McWhorter (So., Cypress, Texas) (two) and TJ Joubert (Jr., Johannesburg, South Africa) (two) notched multi-goal games for McKendree. Kris Eyolfson (So., Winnipeg, Manitoba) and Eli Grande (Jr., San Bernardino, Calif.) chipped in single scores with goalkeeper Benton Fonner (Jr., St. Louis, Mo.) taking the loss.
| 1st Q | 2nd Q | 3rd Q | 4th Q | – | FINAL | |
| No. 13 McKendree University |
2 | 1 | 4 | 3 | – | 10 |
| University of Utah | 6 | 4 | 7 | 2 | – | 19 |
| Utah Goals: | Alex Brett (4); Wyatt Spalding (4); Ethan Thunell (4); Tanner Jones (2); Greysen Gaderson; William Bennett; Andrew Shaw; Tate Tetreault; Rye Thelan | |||||
| McKendree Goals: | Brody Loftin (4); Xander McWhorter (2); TJ Joubert (2); Kris Eyolfson; Eli Grande | |||||
| Exclusions: | Utah – 8 ; McKendree – 8 | |||||
| Advantage Opportunities: | Utah – 5-for-8 ; McKendree – 4-for-8 | |||||
| Sprints: | Utah – 3-for-4 (2nd, 3rd, 4th) ; McKendree – 1-for-4 (1st) | |||||
| Cards/Misconducts: | YC – University of Utah (Head coach Kevin Coughenour, 3:49 left in 4th Q) | |||||
| Officials: | Jeremy Mauss, Victor Nguyen | |||||
University of Utah’s Alex Brett (#2)
University of Utah’s Wyatt Spalding (#9) lines up a shot against McKendree University goalkeeper Benton Fonner (#1)
McKendree University’s Brody Loftin (#17) and the University of Utah’s Alex Brett (#2)
