2017 Women’s National Collegiate Club Championship Schedule & Results
No. 6 The Ohio State University-vs.-No. 1 University of California-Davis Scoresheet
PITTSBURGH, Pa. — Michaela Tillinghast (Sr., Clovis, Calif.) posted a hat-trick to lead all scorers as the No. 1-ranked/Sierra Pacific Division Champion University of California-Davis Aggies ground out an 8-7 victory over No. 6/Big Ten Division Champion The Ohio State University Buckeyes to reach the title game of the 2017 Women’s National Collegiate Club Championship at the University of Pittsburgh’s Joe C. Trees Pool.
The 2012 and 2013 National Champion, UC-Davis will aim to take down No. 3/Pacific Coast Division Champion California Polytechnic State University in the title game at 12:45 p.m. on Sunday, May 7, back at Trees Pool. An eight-time National Champion (2003, 2004, 2005, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011) and three-time runner-up (2002, 2007, 2012), Cal Poly advanced to the title tilt courtesy an 8-5 defeat of No. 2/Southwest Division Champion San Diego State University in the game immediately preceding the clash of Ohio State and UC-Davis.
Facing an Ohio State team that was making its second appearance at the National Collegiate Club Championship following a 10th place finish in 2014 as the host team, the more experienced Aggies had their hands full from the opening sprint until the final buzzer.
UC-Davis jumped on the scoreboard first as Lauren Lesyna (Sr., Palo Alto, Calif.) swished an even-strength shot with 3:29 left in the first quarter prior to Asha Pluton (Jr., Long Beach, Calif.) drilling in a five-meter penalty shot at 2:49 to provide the Aggies a 2-0 margin. The lead, however, would not make it out of the first quarter as Maddie Franzoni (Jr., Mason, Ohio) and Betsy Trace (Jr., Upper Arlington, Ohio) tucked away tallies with 1:27 and 42 seconds remaining in the frame, respectively, to make it two-all after seven minutes of action.
The Buckeyes continued their offensive onslaught against the No. 1-ranked team in the women’s collegiate club ranks as Trace and Kaitlyn Schlueter (Gr., Mill Valley, Calif.) tossed in natural (5:52) and man-up (5:05) chances to provide Ohio State a 4-2 lead.
Similar to UC-Davis’ first quarter lead, the Buckeyes’ margin would also evaporate prior to the conclusion of the first half as Tillinghast lined in a penalty shot (4:09) and arched in a chance with both teams at even-strength (3:16) to set the scoreboard at four-all after 14 minutes of play.
Neither team would find the back of the cage again until the 4:34 mark of the third quarter when Tillinghast accumulated her third goal of the game to put the Aggies back in front at 5-4. Taylor Leach (Jr., Yorba Linda, Calif.) countered the score at 4:14 to balance the scoreboard at five-all prior to dueling power-play strikes by UC-Davis Sofia Caryotakis (Jr., Portola Valley, Calif.) and Schlueter at 3:38 and 2:16, respectively, allowed the Aggies to go in front and the Buckeyes to pull even once again at six-all.
The pattern reversed itself in the closing moments of the third quarter as Megan Wolf (Jr., Mason, Ohio) exploited a seam in the UC-Davis’ defense for an even-strength score at 1:41 to make it 7-6 in favor of Ohio State prior to Pluton converting a man-up chance at 1:09 to knot the teams at seven-all.
It would take until the 3:47 mark of the fourth quarter until the decisive goal as Lesyna punched in her team’s fifth man-up tally for the game-winner to permit the Aggies to return to the National Collegiate Club Championship.
For UC-Davis, Pluton and Lesyna both contributed pairs of goals with Caryotakis chipping in a solo marker. Kelley Cartwright (Jr., San Diego, Calif.) claimed the victory with four saves.
Trace and Schlueter both registered pairs of goals for the Buckeyes with Leach, Wolf and Franzoni notching single strikes as Ohio State will next compete in the Third Place game at 11:30 a.m. on Sunday, May 7, against the Aztecs of San Diego State. Amanda Morgan (Fr., Worthington, Ohio) took the loss with four saves.
Historicaly, the Cal Poly-vs.-UC-Davis title game will mark the third time the Aggies and Mustangs have squared off with the National Championship plaque at stake. UC-Davis downed Cal Poly, 2-1, in the lowest scoring National Championship title game in the history of the sport (any level) in 2012 at Florida State University in Tallahassee, Fla. The squads first met on the grandest stage in 2011 at the University of Notre Dame in Notre Dame, Indiana, when the Mustangs claimed a 6-2 victory. Further, it will mark the fourth time two California schools will clash for the crown as Fresno State defeated Cal Poly in 2008.
| Teams | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | — | Final |
| No. 1 University of California-Davis |
2 | 2 | 3 | 1 | — | 8 |
| No. 6 The Ohio State University | 2 | 2 | 3 | 0 | — | 7 |
Ohio State Goals: Betsy Trace (2); Kaitlyn Schlueter (2); Taylor Leach; Megan Wolf; Maddie Franzoni
UC-Davis Goals: Michaela Tillinghast (3); Asha Pluton (2); Lauren Lesyna (2); Sofia Caryotakis
Saves: Ohio State – Amanda Morgan (4) ; UC-Davis – Kelley Cartwright (4)
Exclusions: Ohio State – 9 ; UC-Davis – 6
Advantage Opportunities: Ohio State – 2-for-6 ; UC-Davis – 5-for-9
Sprints: Ohio State – 0-for-4 ; UC-Davis – 4-for-4
Cards: YC – UC-Davis (Head coach Robert Clemons, 4:21 left in 3rd Q)
Officials: Pat Beemer, Tiffany Urbanski
University of California-Davis’ Lauren Lesyna fires against The Ohio State University’s Taylor Leach (No. 13)
The Ohio State University’s Betsy Trace looks to shoot as the University of California-Davis’ Diana Hatamian defends
