No. 16 McKendree University Stymies Host the University of Alabama, 13-7, in Opening Game of 2021 Men’s National Collegiate Club Championship

University of Alabama-vs.-McKendree University Scoresheet (2021 Men’s National Collegiate Club Championship – Game #1)

HUNTSVILLE, Alabama — Thomas “TJ” Joubert (Fr., Johannesburg, South Africa) scored five times – including a a hat-trick in the first half – as Missouri Valley Division Champion/No. 16-ranked McKendree University opened the 2021 Men’s National Collegiate Club Championship hosted by the University of Alabama and the Huntsville Sports Commission at the Huntsville Aquatics Center with a 13-7 defeat of the Crimson Tide.

Courtesy the win, McKendree advances into the quarterfinals and will next be in action at 9:00 a.m. on Saturday, November 13, versus the victor of a first round game pitting the Sierra Pacific Division Champion/No. 3 Golden Bears of the University of California and the Texas Division Champion/No. 9 Longhorns of the University of Texas for a spot in the semifinals. 

Alabama returns to the water at 9:50 p.m. on the evening of Friday, November 12, against the fallen from the Cal-Texas game.  A loss later this evening will place the Crimson Tide into a 13th/15th place game at 8:40 p.m. on Saturday, November 13, while a win keeps Alabama’s hopes alive for a potential Top 10 finish.

• Alabama jumped out to an early lead in the game as Edi Stefansiscu (Jr,. Rocklin, Calif.) zipped home a ice-breaker with 4:34 left in the first quarter.  McKendree responded in short order as Covington “CJ” Brushwood (So., Gresham, Ore.) and Joubert pumped in back-to-back strikes at 6:00 and 4:12, respectively, to push the Bearcats into the lead at 2-1.
• The teams traded tallies over the remainder of the opening frame as Nick Ward (Jr., Elmhurst, Ill.) posted an equalizer at 2:57 prior to Connor Pulido (Jr., Chicago Ridge, Ill.) pushing McKendree back into the lead for good with a marker at the 39 seconds mark.
• The Bearcats pulled away for good in the second quarter thanks to a 4-0 run fueled by even-strength strikes by Joubert (6:25, 1:55) and Jacob Castillo (Jr., Santa Barbara, Calif.) (2:23) along with a man-up score from Pulido (2:40) to acquire a 7-2 lead heading into halftime.
• The run continued into the third quarter as Brushwood (5:40) and Pulido (3:38) capped off a 7-0 surge by McKendree which provided the Bearcats a 9-2 lead.
• Brian Kent (So., Marietta, Georgia) terminated McKendree’s scoring streak by denting the twine at the 3:07 mark, but Puldio answered at 2:19 to return the spread to seven at 10-3.
• The host team attempted to climb back into the game in the closing moments of the third quarter as Ward wailed in a man-up strike at the 1:59 mark prior to Kent connecting on his own power-play point with nine seconds left to shrink Alabama’s deficit down to 10-5.
• Pat McNally (Sr., Newark, Del.) continued the comeback bid by burying a shot 38 seconds into the fourth quarter (6:22) to shrink the Crimson Tide’s deficit to four at 10-6.
• Joubert (4:12) answered for McKendree and Kent stroked in a score for Alabama (2:32) prior to Joubert (1:13 man-up) and Ethan Hansen (Jr., St. Louis, Mo.) (15 seconds) polishing off the with back-to-back tallies in the closing minutes to establish the 13-7 final score.
• For Alabama, Kent led the way with a hat-trick.  Ward swished a pair with McNally and Stefansiscu both chipping in solo markers.  Goalie James Carr (Fr., Dallas, Texas) took the loss with five saves.
• McKendree received five goals from Joubert, four from Pulido and a pair by Brushwood.  Castillo and Hansen both found the back of the cage once in support of a five save performance by goalie Sterling Burleigh (Fr., South Salt Lake City, Utah).

University of Alabama’s Brian Kent (#21) looks to shoot as McKendree University’s Connor Pulido (#11) defends

McKendree University’s Jacob Castillo looks to shoot

McKendree University’s Jacob Castillo