NOTRE DAME, Ind. — Emily Milton (So., Reedley, Calif.) scored four times, including a trio in the decisive fourth quarter, to collect Player of the Game accolades as Pacific Coast Division Champion/No. 1-ranked California Polytechnic State University shattered a five-all tie at the conclusion of the third quarter to outlast and overcome Northwest Division Champion/No. 7 the University of Washington 9-5, in the quarterfinals of the 2019 Women’s National Collegiate Club Championship hosted by the University of Notre Dame at the Rolfs Aquatic Center.
- The win advances Cal Poly into a semifinal clash at 6:20 p.m. this evening against the victor of a quarterfinal pitting Southeast Division Champion/No. 6 the University of Florida versus North Atlantic Division Champion/Division III No. 2 the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
- Washington will take on the fallen from the Florida-MIT game at 7:30 p.m. with a berth in the Fifth Place game on the line.
- Tied at three-all exiting halftime and five-all going into the fourth quarter, the seven-time National Champion Mustangs (2003, 2004, 2005, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011) took command of the game as Milton ticked off even-strength (6:31), man-up (4:31) and five-meter penalty shot (3:46) scores, as Washington head coach Rudy Ramirez called a timeout without possession of the ball. Hallie Anderson (So., Roseville, Calif.) capped off the surge to victory by stroking in a six-on-five opportunity with 2:36 to go in regulation for the the 9-5 final score.
- The four-goal outburst was the finale for a 6-0 surge for Cal Poly as Washington held a 5-3 lead with 3:23 left in the third quarter. However, Maddie David (So., Pleasanton, Calif.) ignited the Mustangs comeback by slicing in natural tallies at 3:09 and 1:22 to deadlock the squads at five-all heading into the final seven minute quarter of regulation.
- Neither team was able to muster much offense in the first half as Cal Poly jumped on the board first at the 6:25 mark of the first quarter via a man-up score by Sanam Ghazvini (Jr., San Jose, Calif.). Karli Stone (Jr., Tacoma, Wash.) squared the squads at one-all at 3:43 before Milton (man-up, 1:44) and Stone (1:32, even-strength) exchanged tallies to make it two-all after seven minutes of play.
- Cal Poly once again acquired the lead to commence the second quarter as Ghazvini flushed another six-on-five bid at 5:12 to push the Mustangs ahead at 3-2. However, the Huskies barked back courtesy a power-play strike by Stone at 3:58 to make it three-all heading into halftime.
- Washington appeared to gain momentum in the third quarter as Stone (4:19) and Natalie Erjavec (So., Mountain View, Calif.) (3:23) dented the twine to give the Huskies their inaugural lead of the contest (4-3) and some insurance (5-3), but Cal Poly got loose from its pen for the remainder of the game and could not be corralled as the Mustangs stampeded back for the win.
- Milton (four), David (two) and Ghazvini (two) all posted multi-goal games for Cal Poly with Anderson finding the back of the cage once.
- Stone keyed the Washington attack with four goals to tie Milton for game high-scoring honors Erjavec also scored once for the Huskies.
- In cage, Sammi Tovani (Jr., Danville, Calif.) earned the win for Cal Poly with eight saves, while Shelby Smith (Fr., San Diego, Calif.) suffered the defeat for Washington with eight stops.
| 1st Q | 2nd Q | 3rd Q | 4th Q | – | FINAL | |
| University of Washington | 2 | 1 | 2 | 0 | – | 5 |
| Cal Poly State University | 2 | 1 | 2 | 4 | – | 9 |
| Cal Poly Goals: | Emily Milton (4); Maddie David (2); Sanam Ghazvini (2); Hallie Anderson | |||||
| Washington Goals: | Karli Stone (4); Natalie Erjavec | |||||
| Saves: | Cal Poly – Sammi Tovai (8) ; Washington – Shelby Smith (8) | |||||
| Exclusions: | Cal Poly – 3 ; Washington – 10 | |||||
| Advantage Opportunities: | Cal Poly – 6-for-10 ; Washington – 1-for-3 | |||||
| Sprints: | Cal Poly -3-for-4 (1st, 3rd, 4th) ; Washington – 1-for-4 (2nd) | |||||
| Cards/Misconducts: | None | |||||
| Officials: | Scott Voltz; Tim Watson | |||||
University of Washington’s Jalene Weatherholt (#17) tosses a pass over a charging Allie Blake (#2) from California Polytechnic State University
The University of Washington’s Mary Elizabeth Ward (#6) shoots as California Polytechnic State University’s Annie Ritcey (#3) defends
University of Washington goalie Shelby Smith (#1) prepares to make a save as California Polytechnic State University’s Allie Blake (#2) prepares to unload
