HUNTSVILLE, Alabama — 12 athletes from Pacific Coast Division Champion/No. 1-ranked the University of California-San Diego found the back twine in the cage as the Tritons stopped Northwest Division Champion Oregon State University, 20-5, in the opening round of the 2021 Men’s National Collegiate Club Championship hosted by the University of Alabama and the Huntsville Sports Commission at the Huntsville Aquatics Center.
The victory advances UC-San Diego into the quarterfinals on Saturday, November 13, at 11:20 a.m. on Saturday, November 13, where the Tritons will take on the victor of a first round game pitting Mid-Atlantic Division Champion the University of Pennsylvania and New England Division Champion/No. 18 Boston College. Oregon State will continue its day at 8:40 p.m. tonight against the fallen from the Penn-Boston College game as the Beavers can now finish no higher than Ninth Place in the final 16-team standings.
- UC-San Diego fell behind with 5:54 left in the first quarter as Terran Walker swished a shot to stake Oregon State to a 1-0 lead.
- However, the Tritons stuck a fork in the Beavers’ hopes of pulling away as the team rattled off five consecutive goals over the next 3:20 to acquire a 5-1 lead by the 2:34 mark. The margin expanded to 7-2 prior to the conclusion of the opening frame as UC-San Diego held a 7-2 lead after seven minutes of action.
- UC-San Diego continued to pull away as the team outscored Oregon State 6-2, 5-0 and 2-1 over the final three quarters to claim a 20-5 victory and punch the program’s ticket into the quarterfinals.
- The victory guarantees UC-San Diego will acquire the program’s fourth Top 10 finish in as many tries following Third (2019), Fifth (2018) and Ninth (2013) place marks.
- For the Tritons, Player of the Game Arthur Sefayan (Jr., Ventura, Calif.) scored five times with Jordi Rivera (Sr., Madrid, Spain), Jack Harper (Sr., San Diego, Calif.), Gonzalo Rivera (Sr., Madrid, Spain), Graham McClone (Gr., Placerville, Calif.) each finding the back of the cage twice. Andrew Schade (Sr., Solana Beach, Calif.), Parker Knopf (Jr., Norco, Calif.), Weston Restad (Jr., Murrieta, Calif.), Malachi Sanders (Sr., San Diego, Calif.), Peter Olson (Fr., Coronado, Calif.), Jackson Cassidy (Jr., San Diego, Calif.) and Max Black (So., Seattle, Wash.) each chipped in solo tallies in support of a combined five save effort by goalies Thomas Winham (Sr., Cheshire, England) and Hunter Brownell (So., Santa Barbara, Calif.).
- For Oregon State, Wyatt Eckholt contributed three goals with Max Taylor and Walker each accounting for solo strikes. Goalies Dominic Cozetto and Cael Price combined to turn away four scoring tries.
| 1st Q | 2nd Q | 3rd Q | 4th Q | – | FINAL | |
| Oregon State University |
2 | 2 | 0 | 1 | – | 5 |
| University of California-San Diego | 7 | 6 | 5 | 2 | – | 20 |
| UC-San Diego Goals: | Arthur Sefayan (5); Jordi Rivera (2); Jack Harper (2); Gonzalo Rivera (2); Graham McClone (2); Andrew Schade; Parker Knopf; Weston Restad; Malachi Sanders; Peter Olson; Jackson Cassidy; Max Black | |||||
| Oregon State Goals: | Wyatt Eckholt (3); Max Taylor; Terran Walker | |||||
| Saves: | UC-San Diego – Thomas Winham (3, 14 minutes), Hunter Brownell (2, 14 minutes) ; Oregon State – Dominic Cozetto (3, 14 minutes), Cael Price (1, 14 minutes) | |||||
| Exclusions: | UC-San Diego – 6 ; Oregon State – 9 | |||||
| Advantage Opportunities: | UC-San Diego – 6-for-9 ; Oregon State – 0-for-6 | |||||
| Sprints: | UC-San Diego – 4-for-4 ; Oregon State – 0-for-4 | |||||
| Cards/Misconducts: | None | |||||
| Officials: | Victor Rarau; Steve Sargalski | |||||
University of California-San Diego’s Tyler Horvath (#13) attempts to block a pass by Oregon State University’s Max Taylor (#4)
Oregon State University’s Wyatt Eckholt (#11) tries to dump off a pass over the University of California-San Diego’s Parker Knopf (#5)
University of California-San Diego’s Jack Harper (#17)
