NEWBERG, Ore. — 12 California Polytechnic State University athletes found the back twine as the No. 1-ranked/Pacific Coast Division Champion Mustangs managed No. 14/Northwest Division Champion the University of Washington, 27-7, in the opening round of the 2022 Men’s National Collegiate Club Championship hosted by Oregon State University at the Chehalem Aquatic and Fitness Center.
The victory advances Cal Poly into a quarterfinal clash at 11:20 a.m. on Saturday, November 12, with the victor of an opening round game between No. 15/Rocky Mountain Division Champion the University of Colorado and No. 5/Florida Division Champion the University of Florida. Washington falls into the consolation side of the bracket and will meet the fallen from the Colorado/Florida game at 8:40 p.m. this evening as the Huskies can now finish no higher than Ninth in the 16-team championship field.
The all-time leader in National Collegiate Club Championships with five (1999, 2001, 2002, 2004, 2007) in eight title game appearances (1999, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2007, 2008), the Mustangs of 11-time (1998, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2018, 2022) Pacific Coast Division Champion Cal Poly never trailed against Washington as the team opened up a 7-2 lead by the conclusion of the first quarter, pulled ahead 15-5 by halftime, pushed the margin to 22-5 by the end of the third quarter and coasted over the final seven minutes for a 20-game victory.
Cal Poly – which is guaranteed the program’s 12th Top 10 finish following prior First (1999, 2001, 2002, 2004, 2007), Second (2003, 2008) Third (2000, 2017, 2018) and Fifth (2006) Place marks since 2000 – received four goals each from Player of the Game triumverate Dylan Chmelka (Jr., Del Mark, Calif.), Kyle Bistrain (Jr., Los Altos, Calif.) and Jack Sweet (Jr., Thousand Oakes, Calif.). Joey Grywczynski (Sr., Dublin, Calif.) stuffed in a trio with Grant Lautze (Sr., Lake Oswego, Ore.), Aidan Seed (So., Woodside, Calif.), Joe Schaner (Sr., Valley Center, Calif.) and Bennett Steiger (Fr., San Anselmo, Calif.) chipping in pairs. Owen Taylor (Fr., Menlo Park, Calif.), Dylan Weiglein (Sr., Pleasanton, Calif.), Cal Brown (Sr., Concord, Calif.) and Jake Anderson (Fr., Redwood City, Calif.) all tacked on solo strikes in support of a combined seven save effort by netminders Koby Ramage (Sr., Visalia, Calif.) and Tristan Linder (So., Santa Ynez, Calif.).
Washington – which previously placed Second (2000), Sixth (2001, 2002) and Eighth (2006, 2009) at the Men’s National Collegiate Club Championship – received a pair of markers from Nick Findley (Jr., Tacoma, Wash.) to accompany solo scores by Henry Stemp (So., Tacoma, Wash.), Memphis Woods (Fr., Seattle, Wash.), Griffin Hallaher (Jr., Seattle, Wash.), Marc Vallinayagam (Fr., San Ramon, Calif.) and Matt Mulfinger (Sr., Bellevue, Wash.). Liam Griffith (Jr., Castro Valley, Calif.) and Aiden Barlett (Fr., Gig Harbor, Wash.) combined to stop eight shots in cage.
| 1st Q | 2nd Q | 3rd Q | 4th Q | – | FINAL | |
| No. 14 University of Washington |
2 | 3 | 0 | 2 | – | 7 |
| No. 1 California Polytechnic State University | 7 | 8 | 7 | 5 | – | 27 |
| Cal Poly Goals: | Dylan Chmelka (4); Kyle Bistrain (4); Jack Sweet (4); Joey Grywczynski (3); Grant Lautze (2); Aidan Seed (2); Joe Schaner (2); Bennett Steiger (2); Owen Taylor; Dylan Weiglein; Cal Brown; Jake Anderson | |||||
| Washington (Wash.) Goals: | Nick Findley (2); Henry Stemp; Memphis Woods; Griffin Hallahar; Marc Vallinayagam; Matt Mulfinger; | |||||
| Saves: | Cal Poly – Koby Ramage (3), Tristan Linder (4); Washington (Wash.) – Liam Griffith (5), Aiden Bartlett (3) | |||||
| Exclusions: | Cal Poly – 5 ; Washington (Wash.) – 4 | |||||
| Advantage Opportunities: | Cal Poly – 3-for-4 ; Washington (Wash.) – 3-for-5 | |||||
| Sprints: | Cal Poly – 4-for-4 ; Washington (Wash.) – 0-for-4 | |||||
| Cards/Misconducts: | None | |||||
| Officials: | Mike McMahon; Simone La Pay | |||||
California Polytechnic State University’s Bennett Steiger (#24) unloads a shot as the University of Washington’s Andy Newman (#7) defends
University of Washington’s Nick Findley (#5) looks to shoot over California Polytechnic State University’s Daniel Davis (#2)
California Polytechnic State University’s Dylan Chmelka (#4) shoots over the University of Washington’s Edwin Lee (#2)
