PROVIDENCE, R.I. — No. 15-ranked Brown University challenged No. 7 Pepperdine University before falling in overtime, 11-9, while also dropping decisions to No. 5 University of the Pacific, 24-8, and No. 3 Stanford University, 19-0, at home in the Katherine Moran Coleman Aquatics Center on the final day of the Bruno Classic.
Facing three of the top seven ranked teams in the nation on the second and final day of the Bruno Classic, the host Bears (3-3) pushed the Waves (4-0) to overtime in their second game of the day while falling to the Tigers (3-0) in their first contest and to the Cardinal (4-0) in the finale of the tournament.
Senior Tyler Kirchberg (Orinda, Calif.) led Brown with four goals on the day. Against Pepperdine, senior Rico Burke (San Mateo, Calif.) posted three goals and an assist, and freshman goalkeeper Riad Hallal (Coronado, Calif.) made eight saves as Brown rallied from a three-goal deficit in the third quarter to force overtime.
In the day’s opener versus Pacific, Kirchberg scored three goals.
In support of Kirchberg, senior Tommy Bush (Lafayette, Calif.) and sophomore James Thygesen (Menlo Park, Calif.) each registered a goal and an assist.
Sophomore Will Collier (Darien, Conn.) and freshman Aidan Reilly (Los Angeles, Calif.) dished out two assists apiece, while junior Santiago Nunez (Miami, Fla.) and sophomores Armen Deirmenjian (Beverly Hills, Calif.) and Hudson Rawlings (Murrieta, Calif.) netted one goal each. Freshman Daniel Hu (Colleyville, Texas) added an assist.
Pacific opened the contest with a 7-1 lead after the first quarter. Deirmenjian tallied Brown’s goal in the period, converting on the left wing off of a long pass from Reilly.
In the second quarter, Rawlings scored on a backhanded shot off a feed from Thygesen, and Bush found the back of the net from five meters off a pass from Hu, but the Tigers brought a 12-3 edge into the intermission. The visitors scored all six of the third quarter’s goals, pulling ahead 18-3.
After Pacific gained a 20-3 margin, the Bears outscored the Tigers 5-4 over the final 6:10, including three goals from Kirchberg. Kirchberg started the frame’s scoring for Brown with a goal from eight meters prior to Thygesen converting on a no-look shot. Nunez netted a backhander on a feed from Collier before Kirchberg scored twice in the closing 97 seconds.
Brown junior goalie Will Renken (South Pasadena, Calif.) made two saves.
In the day’s middle game, Burke netted a hat trick as the Bears rallied to force overtime after facing a three-goal deficit in the third quarter. However, Pepperdine held off Brown, 11-9, in overtime to avoid an upset.
In their second game of the day and fifth contest overall at the Bruno Classic, the Bears came back from a 7-4 deficit midway through the third quarter to tie the game at 9-9 and force overtime prior to dropping the decision.
Burke added an assist to his team-high three goals, while six different Bears netted a single tally, including Kirchberg and fellow senior Austin Hwang (Laguna Hills, Calif.) along with Collier, Deirmenjian, Rawlings and Thygesen. Deirmenjian tacked on two assists.
Hallal turned aside eight shots, making four saves between the fourth quarter and overtime.
After Pepperdine went ahead 7-4 with 5:05 to go in the third quarter, Deirmenjian began Brown’s comeback with a goal from five meters with 3:47 to play in the period. Burke followed with a goal off a rebound to pull the hosts within 7-6 with 1:22 left in the third. The Waves answered, but a goal from Hwang on a skip shot brought Brown within 8-7 heading to the fourth quarter.
Burke knotted the score at 8-8 with 2:44 remaining in regulation, beating the goalie in a one-on-one after receiving a pass on a counter from Deirmenjian. Pepperdine re-took the lead at the 1:26 mark, but Kirchberg scored from five meters with 20 seconds left in regulation to send the game to overtime.
The visitors scored at the 1:45 mark of the first overtime period and added a second goal with 1:52 remaining in the second overtime stanza.
In the first quarter, the Waves grabbed a 2-0 lead before Brown responded with back-to-back goals from Collier and Thygesen. Pepperdine closed the frame’s scoring to claim a 3-2 edge after one.
A skip shot from Burke to open the second quarter and a goal on the inside from Rawlings with 5:23 to go in the period gave Brown a 4-3 lead. Pepperdine netted the first half’s last two goals to carry a 5-4 margin into the break.
In the Bears’ concluding game of their home tournament, No. 3 Stanford took a 9-0 lead after the first quarter and a 15-0 edge at halftime on its way to a 19-0 win.
In their sixth and final game of the Bruno Classic, the Bears kept the Cardinal to four goals in the second half, but the visitors took control of the game in the opening stanza as the Cardinal netted five goals in the first 3:11.
Thygesen nearly ended the shutout in the fourth quarter as his shot went off the crossbar and down into the face of the goal but did not cross the line.
Renken tallied two saves in taking the loss for the Bears.
Relase courtesy Brown University Athletics Communications
