HUNTSVILLE, Alabama — Tim Greer (Gr., Ambler, Pa.) scored three times as Southwest Division runner-up/No. 12-ranked the University of Southern California stopped Missouri Valley Division Champion/No. 16 McKendree University, 15-8, in the Fifth Place game of the 2021 Men’s National Collegiate Club Championship at the Huntsville Aquatics Center.
A two-time National Collegiate Club Champion (2011, 2012), the Trojans continue a string of Top Five marks after most recently posting second (2019) and fourth (2017) place marks.
The Sixth Place finish is an improvement over the McKendree Bearcats only previous placement at the event as the team finished in Eighth Place at the 2016 National Collegiate Club Championship hosted by the University of Notre Dame.
- USC never trailed versus McKendree as Greer (6:32), Chad Derosier (Gr., East Bridgewater, Mass.) (5:20) and Mitch Fargo (Sr., Redlands, Calif.) (3:30, man-up) went back-to-back-to-back to provide the Trojans a 3-0 lead.
- Following a response by Jacob Castillo (Jr., Santa Barbara, Calif.) at 2:43 to move McKendree within 3-1, USC capped off a 5-1 scoring advantage in the first quarter as Marko Ilincic (Jr., Huntington Beach, Calif.) and Sean Choppin (Jr., Long Beach, Calif.) found the twine at 1:11 and 36 seconds, respectively.
- USC continued to pull away in the second quarter as Declan Cooper (So., Indian Wells, Calif.), Greer, Tyler Rosselli (Sr., Walnut Creek, Calif.) and Charlie Stemp (So., University Place, Wash.) put away shots at 6:20, 5:33, 4:52 and 3:53, respectively, to make it 9-1.
- Castillo chipped McKendree’s deficit down to seven prior to the halftime horn by rifling in a shot with 1:30 to go in making it 9-2 at the break.
- Eli Grande (Fr., San Bernardino, Calif.) shaved it down to 9-3 at 6:29 of the third quarter before Cooper responded for USC at 5:40 to make it 10-3.
- McKendree attempted to climb back into the game as Castillo (3:02, 1:39), TJ Joubert (Fr., Johannesburg, South Africa) (2:30) and CJ Brushwood (So., Gresham, Ore.) combined for a four-goal run to move the Bearcats within 10-7.
- Greer snapped the run with 16 seconds left in the third quarter to make it 11-7. USC’s response continued into the fourth quarter as Alonzo (3:39) and Fargo (3:19) posted man-up goals to make it 13-7.
- Connor Pulido (Jr., Chicago Ridge, Ill.) sliced McKendree’s deficit back to five (13-8) before Greer wrapped-up the win for USC with back-to-back markers at 1:22 and 46 seconds for the 15-8 final score.
- For USC, Alonzo and Greer both posted hat-tricks, while Cooper and Fargo chipped in pairs. Choppin, Ilincic, Rosselli, Stemp and Derosier all tacked on single goals.
- Castillo led McKendree with four goals, while Brushwood, Grande, Pulido and Joubert each racked up single tallies.
| 1st Q | 2nd Q | 3rd Q | 4th Q | – | FINAL | |
| University of Southern California |
5 | 4 | 2 | 4 | – | 15 |
| McKendree University | 1 | 1 | 5 | 1 | – | 8 |
| McKendree Goals: | Jacob Castillo (4); CJ Brushwood; Eli Grande; Connor Pulido; TJ Joubert | |||||
| USC Goals: | Peyton Alonzo (3); Tim Greer (3); Declan Cooper (2); Mitchell Fargo (2); Sean Choppin; Marko Ilincic; Tyler Rosselli; Charlie Stemp; Chad Derosier | |||||
| Exclusions: | McKendree – 9 ; USC – 8 | |||||
| Advantage Opportunities: | McKendree – 3-for-8 ; USC – 0-for-9 | |||||
| Sprints: | McKendree – 1-for-4 (2nd) ; USC – 3-for-4 (1st, 3rd, 4th) | |||||
| Cards/Misconducts: | None | |||||
| Officials: | Valer Rarau; Steve Sargalski | |||||
University of Southern California’s Declan Cooper (#2)
McKendree University’s Eli Grande (#7) looks for an opening as the University of Southern California’s Carson Alonzo (#9) closes in
McKendree University’s Jacob Castillo (#3)
