2017 Women’s National Collegiate Club Championship Schedule & Results
No. 3 California Polytechnic State University-vs.-No. 1 University of California-Davis Scoresheet
PITTSBURGH, Pa. — Player of the Game Lauren Lesyna (Sr., Palo Alto, Calif.) scored five times, including the game-winner with 48 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter off an assist from Emily Gould (Sr., San Diego, Calif.), as the No. 1-ranked/Sierra Pacific Division Aggies of the University of California-Davis overcame an 8-5 deficit going into the fourth quarter to stun No. 3/Pacific Coast Division Champion California Polytechnic State University, 9-8, and capture the 2017 Women’s National Collegiate Club Championship at the University of Pittsburgh’s Joe C. Trees Pool.
Markong the third time the Aggies and Mustangs squared off with the National Championship plaque at stake since 2011, UC-Davis never led in the game until Lesyna slammed in a pass from Gould into the lower right side of the cage from her perspective for the decisive strike in providing the 2012 and 2013 National Champions the third title in the history of the Aggies’ women’s water polo club program.
Facing a three-goal hole at 8-5 with just seven minutes to play, UC-Davis went to work in recording an improbable comeback. Diana Hatamian (Jr., San Jose, Calif.) began the rally by breaking loose for a man-up goal as the exclusion expired at 5:26 prior to Lesyna making it a game with 3:28 on the clock courtesy a natual goal to move the Aggies within one at 8-7 at the 3:28 mark.
Lesyna took the Aggies to the promised land over the final 93 seconds as she pumped in the equalizer with 1:33 the clock to knot the score at eight-all. The game-winner came 45 seconds later when Gould slipped around her defender by the post and found Lesyna sitting in front of the cage with a defender draped upon her. Gould dumped a wet-pass to Lesyna who shook her defender, turned a fired a shot just inside the near post with 48 seconds remaining in regulation for the queen-maker as UC-Davis claimed the 2017 National Collegiate Club Championship crown.
The contest was lopsided in favor of the Mustangs in the first half as Cal Poly ranout to a game-high five goal lead (8-3) with 1:15 left in the second quarter to set the stage for one of the greatest comebacks in the history of collegiate club water polo.
Hannah Sweet (Fr., Ripon, Calif.) opened the scoring for Cal Poly by twirling in a shot with 5:16 on the first quarter clock to break the ice. Sofia Caryotakis (Jr., Portola Valley, Calif.) pulled UC-Davis even 27 seconds later by converting on a power-play opportunity (4:49), but Sweet delivered another go-ahead tally for Cal Poly with 2:36 remaining in the frame to provide the Mustangs a lead they would not relinquish until Lesyna’s heroics in the final minute and a half of the fourth quarter.
Taylor Best (Jr., Yorba Linda, Calif.) padded the margin to 3-1 55 seconds into the second quarter (6:55), but Dallyce Marglon (Jr., Tracy, Calif.) responded for UC-Davis at 5:32 with another man-up conversion for the Aggies to shrink the gap back to a score at 3-2.
However, a marker by Hannah Vaughn-Hulbert (So., San Jose, Calif.) at 4:50 followed by a successful five-meter penalty shot by Claudia Macedo (Jr., San Martin, Calif.) with 4:17 left in the first half pushed Cal Poly out to a 5-2 lead.
Lesyna got on the board with 3:02 left in the half to shave the Aggies’ deficit down to 5-3, but back-to-back-to-back goals from Macedo (man-up, 2:41), Sweet (1:45, even-strength) and Molly Casey (Sr., Coarsegold, Calif.) (1:15, even-strength) exploded the gap to an nearly insurmountable 8-3 spread. Caryotakis delivered an answer for the Mustangs 14 seconds after Casey’s blast by slipping in another man-up bid with 43 seconds remaining to inch UC-Davis within 8-4 going into halftime.
Both teams’ defenses stiffened in the third quarter as an advantage score by Lesyna with 5:44 on the board to further splinter Cal Poly’s lead to 8-5 was the lone goal put up on the board prior to the climatic fourth quarter of action.
The game was similar to one of the two prior National Championship meetings between the two programs as UC-Davis downed Cal Poly, 2-1, thanks to a strong defensive stand during the second half 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, the game marked the fourth time two California schools clashed for the National Championship as Fresno State University defeated Cal Poly in 2008 prior to the three UC-Davis-vs.-Cal Poly showdowns.
For the eight-time National Champion (2003, 2004, 2005, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011) and now four-time runner-up (2002, 2007, 2012, 2017) Mustangs, Cal Poly was led by three goals from Sweet along with a pair by Macedo. Casey, Vaughn-Hulbert and Best each accounted for single strikes as all of the Pacific Coast Division Champion’s offense came in the first half.
In cage, Sierra Sheeper (Jr., Menlo Park, Calif.) made five saves in taking the loss.
Caryotakis joined Lesyna in posting a multi-score game for the new National Champions as she hit the twine twice to go along with solo markers by Hatamian and Marglon. In cage, Kelley Cartwright (Jr., San Diego, Calif.) and Cassidy Crouch (Fr., Clovis, Calif.) combined for six saves in splitting the contest by half with Crouch going down as the winning netminder by playing the second half.
| Teams | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | — | Final |
| No. 1 University of California-Davis |
1 | 3 | 1 | 4 | — | 9 |
| No. 3 California Polytechnic State University | 2 | 6 | 0 | 0 | — | 8 |
Cal Poly Goals: Hannah Sweet (3); Claudia Macedo (2); Molly Casey; Hannah Vaughn-Hulbert; Taylor Best
UC-Davis Goals: Lauren Lesyna (5); Sofia Caryotakis (2); Diana Hatamian; Dallyce Marglon
Saves: Cal Poly – Sierra Sheeper (5) ; UC-Davis – Kelley Cartwright (3, 14 minutes), Cassidy Crouch (3, 14 minutes)
Exclusions: Cal Poly – 10 ; UC-Davis – 8
Advantage Opportunities: Cal Poly – 2-for-8 ; UC-Davis – 5-for-10
Sprints: Cal Poly – 4-for-4 ; UC-Davis – 0-for-4
Cards: YC – UC-Davis (Head coach Robert Clemons, 2:05 left in 4th Q)
Officials: Dave Alberstein, Tiffany Urbanski
California Polytechnic State University’s Hannah Sweet prepares to shoot against the University of California-Davis’ Michaela Tillinghast
California Polytechnic State University’s Hannah Vaughn-Hulbert
University of California-Davis’ Asha Pluton defends California Polytechnic State University’s Kayla Iles
2017 Women’s National Collegiate Club Championship Most Valuable Player – Michaela Tillinghast (University of California-Davis)
2017 Women’s National Collegiate Club Champion – University of California-Davis
