HUNTSVILLE, Ala. — Goalkeeper Xavier Williams (So., Houston, Texas) of Great Lakes Division Champion/No. 16-ranked the University of Notre Dame made 10 saves – including four stops in the decisive fourth quarter – to earn Player of the Game status as the Irish overcame Mid-Atlantic Division Champion/No. 13 the University of Pittsburgh, 9-7, in the first consolation game at the 2026 Men’s National Collegiate Club Championship hosted by the University of Alabama and the Huntsville Sports Commission at the Huntsville Aquatics Center.
Notre Dame – which previously finished 13th (2004), 12th (2025) and 11th (2016, 2019) at the Men’s National Collegiate Club Championship – is guaranteed to finish no lower than 12th in the final 2026 standings due to its victory over the Panthers.
The Irish will return to the water at 1:40 p.m. Central on Saturday, November 7, in another consolation game against the victor of a consolation tilt between New England Division Champion/No. 15 Yale University and Southeast Division runner-up the Georgia Institute of Technology. The winner of Notre Dame’s next game will play for Ninth Place on Sunday, November 8, at 2:15 p.m. while the loser will contest the 30th and final game of the weekend at 3:30 p.m. for 11th Place.
Pittsburgh – which tied for 15th in their only prior Men’s National Collegiate Club Championship appearance as the host team in 2019 – will conclude its postseason experience at 8:40 p.m. on Saturday, November 7, against the fallen from the Yale-Georgia Tech consolation game. The victor of the Panthers’ next game will tie for 13th in the final 16-team championship standings, while the loser will tie for 15th. Due to time constraints the 13th-14th-15th-16th positions are not played out with the four bottom teams in the bracket tying for 13th and 15th depending on the outcomes of their final games.
Trailing 7-6 entering the fourth quarter, the Irish rallied past Pittsburgh as Brody Suba (Fr., Orinda, Calif.) (3:41) and Zach Jones (Jr., Bellaire, Texas) (5:07; 3:52) ticked off a trio of tallies in the fourth quarter, while Williams stymied the Pittsburgh shooters as Notre Dame overcame the Panthers in the closing minutes of the game.
The game was tight throughout as neither team built a lead larger than two goals during the duration of the contest.
Following over five and a half minutes of scoreless water polo, Michael Skale (So., St. Louis, Mo.) ignited the fireworks with 2:27 left in the first quarter to put the Irish ahead 1-0. Andrew Davis (Sr., Lansdale, Pa.) responded with natural (1:23) and penalty shot (43 seconds) strikes to provide Pittsburgh a 2-1 margin prior to Jones (20 seconds, man-up) closing the first quarter with an equalizer to deadlock the squads at two-all.
Pittsburgh regained the lead to commence the second quarter as Max Davis-Denny (So., Pasadena, Calif.) (5:51, man-up) and Davis (3:42) made ball meet net to double-up Notre Dame at 4-2.
However, a four-leaf clover found its way to the Notre Dame side of the tank as Skale (3:32) and Jones (31 seconds) deposited goals to make the score four-all entering halftime.
Skale cashed in a man-up bid with 5:46 on the third quarter clock to place the Irish ahead for the first time since its earlier 1-0 margin, but Caden Currykosky (So., Pittsburgh, Pa.) (5:27) flushed an equalizer before Davis-Denny juked his defender and wailed in a go-ahead blow at 3:12 to put the Panthers ahead 6-5. The quarter closed out with both teams finding the cage as Skale struck at 2:45 and Davis-Denny delivered with a man-up marker at 1:02 to give Pitt a 7-6 lead and set the stage for Notre Dame’s fourth quarter comeback.
Davis (four goals) and Davis-Denny (three goals) inflicted all of the Panthers’ offensive damage in the game. Goalkeeper Ethan Luginbuhl (Fr., Perkasie, Pa.) corralled five saves in the first-to-third quarters prior to Kyle Mair (Fr., Blue Bell, Pa.) stopping a pair of tries during the decisive fourth quarter.
Skale and Jones both scored four times to lead the way for Notre Dame with Suba chipping in a solo goal.
University of Notre Dame’s Nico Lohmann (#21) tries to shoot around the University of Pittsburgh’s Caden Currykosky (#9)
University of Pittsburgh’s Max Davis-Denny (#17) looks for an opening as University of Notre Dame’s Owen Helenski (#12) closed in
University of Notre Dame’s Michael Skale (#10) & University of Pittsburgh’s Ethan Luginbuhl (#1) battle for the ball
