TUCSON, Arizona — Thomas Savage (Sr., West Amwell, N.J.) scored three times to claim Player of the Game recognition and goalie Tyler Dubiel (Jr., Pleasanton, Calif.) stopped eight shots as No. 15-ranked/New England Division Champion Boston College bested No. 9/Florida Division Champion the University of Florida, 12-8, in the Ninth Place game of the 2018 Men’s National Collegiate Club Championship hosted at the University of Arizona’s Student Recreation Center.
Trailing 1-0 35 seconds into the game, the Eagles rattled off three consecutive goals to grab a 3-1 lead. Out in front by a 3-2 count at the conclusion of the opening frame, Boston College pulled away from the Gators in the second quarter by outscoring Florida, 5-1, to grab an 8-3 lead by halftime.
The Gators failed to cut Boston College’s lead below three goals the rest of the way as Florida put up back-to-back goals in the dawning moments of the third quarter to move within 8-5. However, the Eagles responded with a pair of strikes of their own before the concluding horn of the third frame prior to double-up Florida at 10-5 going into the fourth quarter on the way to a four-score victory.
For Boston College, Colin Derdeyn (Sr., St Louis, Mo.), Omar John (So., St. John’s, Antigua), Daniel Walsh (Jr., St. Louis, Mo.) and Michael Spence (Jr., San Francisco, Calif.) all notched pairs of markers to join Savage in netting multi-score contests. Carter Dwyer (Fr., Cincinnati, Ohio) chipped in a solo tally as the Eagles earn a Ninth Place finish after previously placing 13th (2017), Ninth (2016), Fourth (2014) and 12th (2006) in four prior trips to the Men’s National Collegiate Club Championship.
Murphey Morgan (Gr., Lyman, Fla.) keyed Florida with four goals with Clancy Short (Gr., Goshen, Ind.), Parker Strickman (So., Fort Lauderdale, Fla.), Gabriel Carrero (Gr., Sao Paulo, Brazil) and Thomas MacDonald (Sr., Orlando, Fla.) each posting single scores. In cage, Corby Bertolett (So., Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) made seven saves in taking the loss.
In the history of the Gators’ program, Florida has now recorded Eighth (2000), Third (2001), 11th (2002), Ninth (2003), Fourth (2008), 13th (2009), Third (2011), 12th (2017) and 10th (2018) in succession to make the Top 10 six times at the Men’s National Collegiate Club Championship.
| 1st Q | 2nd Q | 3rd Q | 4th Q | – | FINAL | |
| Boston College | 3 | 5 | 2 | 2 | – | 12 |
| University of Florida | 2 | 1 | 2 | 3 | – | 8 |
| Florida Goals: | Murphey Morgan (4); Clancy Short; Parker Strickman; Gabriel Carrero; Thomas MacDonald | |||||
| Boston College Goals: | Thomas Savage (3); Colin Derdeyn (2); Omar John (2); Daniel Walsh (2); Michael Spence (2); Carter Dwyer | |||||
| Saves: | Florida – Corby Bertolett (7) ; Boston College – Tyler Dubiel (8) | |||||
| Exclusions: | Florida – 7 ; Boston College – 7 | |||||
| Advantage Opportunities: | Florida – 4-for-7 ; Boston College – 3-for-7 | |||||
| Sprints: | Florida – 0-for-4 ; Boston College – 4-for-4 | |||||
| Cards/Misconducts: | None | |||||
| Officials: | John Rightmyer, Scott Krasinski | |||||
Boston College’s Omar John (#13)
University of Florida’s Murphey Morgan (#9) looks to pass as Boston College’s Scott Singer (#6) watches
Boston College’s Michael Spence (#20) unleashes a shot as the University of Florida’s Parker Strickman (#19) defends
