CARLISLE, Pa. — Goalkeeper John Pawsat (So., Houston, Texas) made 10 saves and Leyton Kraft (Sr., Pearland, Texas) contributed a contest high six goals as Texas Division Champion/No. 12-ranked Texas A&M University built an early lead, fell behind in the third quarter and rallied back in the fourth quarter for an 11-10 defeat of Sierra Pacific Division Champion/No. 1 California State University-Chico in the semifinals of the 2025 Men’s National Collegiate Club Championship at the Carlisle YMCA Aquatic Center.
Texas A&M – which previously placed Seventh (2024), Ninth (2008), 13th (2007, 2016) and 15th (2002, 2001) in prior appearances at the National Collegiate Club Championship – will return to the water at 6:20 p.m. Eastern this evening against the victor of a quarterfinal pairing Pacific Coast Division Champion/No. 1 California Polytechnic State University and Florida Division Champion/No. 11 the University of Florida. The Aggies are guaranteed to claim the program’s all-time best finish at the National Collegiate Club Championship regardless of the outcome against either Cal Poly or Florida as Texas A&M is assured of placing no lower than Fourth Place in the final 30-game, 16-team championship standings in 2025.
Cal State Chico – which is making the program’s inaugural appearance at the Men’s National Collegiate Club Championship – will take on the loser of the Cal Poly-Florida game at 7:30 p.m. with a spot in the championship’s Fifth Place game on the line.
The Aggies charged out of the pen and took Chico State by surprise in the first quarter as Travis Thames (So., Pearland, Texas) and Leyton Kraft banged in shots at 6:14 and 5:29 to put Texas A&M in front by a 2-0 count less than two minutes into the contest. Hank Wildenradt (Sr., Rocklin, Texas) cut into the A&M lead with man-up strike at 4:58, but Alexander Hirjoi (Gr., Elk Grove Village, Ill.) (4:19), Leyton Kraft (3:06), Thames (2:07) and Logan Kraft (So., Pearland, Texas) (1:23) reeled off a 4-0 streak to provide the Aggies a 6-1 margin in the closing minutes of the opening frame.
Cameron Reed (Jr., Rocklin, Calif.) ignited a response from the Wildcats by cashing in a man-up chance with one minute left in the first quarter prior to Joe Stanbridge (5:38; 4:18), Reed (5:08, penalty shot) and Wildenradt (3:16) commencing the second quarter with a quartet of tallies to square the squads at six-all.
Leyton Kraft returned the lead to the Aggies by putting away even-strength (3:00) and man-up (29 seconds) bids, but Chico got one of the goals back prior to halftime as goalkeeper Ryan Parker (Sr., Walnut Creek, Calif.) buried a shot in Texas A&M’s twine with 11 ticks left on the clock to make it an 8-7 contest in favor of the Aggies at the game’s midway point.
The third quarter was the exclusive domain of Cal State Chico as Reed (5:57, penalty shot), Tony Trapanese (Fr., Vallejo, Calif.) (59 seconds) and Wildenradt (19 seconds) posted three goals to turn a one score deficit exiting halftime into a 10-8 Wildcats’ lead entering the fourth quarter.
The fourth quarter was the inverse of the third quarter for Chico as Leyton Kraft (3:46; 1:46) tied the game at 10-all before Logan Kraft put away the game-winner with 13 seconds left in regulation to permit Texas A&M to advance into the National Collegiate Club Championship semifinals for the first time.
Reed and Wildenradt posted hat-tricks to lead the way for Cal State Chico, while Stanbridge accounted for a pair of strikes Trapanese and Parker tacked on single scores to support a 13 save performance by Parker.
Leyton Kraft (six), Logan Kraft (two) and Thames (two) combined for 10 of the Aggies’ 11 goals with Hirjoi accounting for the final tally.
| 1st Q | 2nd Q | 3rd Q | 4th Q | – | FINAL | |
| No. 12 Texas A&M University | 6 | 2 | 0 | 3 | – | 11 |
| No. 1 California State University-Chico | 2 | 5 | 3 | 0 | – | 10 |
| Cal State Chico Goals: | Cameron Reed (3); Hank Wildenradt (3); Joe Stanbridge (2); Tony Trapanese; Ryan Parker | |||||
| Texas A&M Goals: | Leyton Kraft (6); Logan Kraft (2); Travis Thames (2); Alexander Hirjoi | |||||
| Saves: | Cal State Chico – Ryan Parker (13) ; Texas A&M – John Pawsat (10) | |||||
| Exclusions: | Cal State Chico – 7 ; Texas A&M – 7 | |||||
| Advantage Opportunities: | Cal State Chico – 4-for-7 ; Texas A&M -1-for-7 | |||||
| Sprints: | Cal State Chico – 4-for-4 ; Texas A&M – 0-for-4 | |||||
| Cards/Misconducts: | None | |||||
| Officials: | Geoff Deasey, Chad Quinn | |||||
California State University-Chico’s Hank Wildenradt (#8) & Texas A&M University’s Channing Miller (#15)
Texas A&M University’s Roman Rosser (#4) & California State University-Chico’s Declan Linnane (#6)
Texas A&M University’s Alexander Herjoi (#11) defends California State University-Chico’s Hank Wildenradt (#8)
California State University-Chico’s Ryan Parker (#1) prepares to make a stop against Texas A&M University’s Travis Thames (#10)
