CARLISLE, Pa. — Players of the Game Kip Nilsson (Palo Alto, Calif.) and Max Sweeney (Manhattan Beach, Calif.) from New England Division Champion/No. 17-ranked Dartmouth College both scored four times for all the Big Green needed to stymie Big Ten Division Champion/No. 8 the University of Michigan, 12-6, in the 2025 Men’s National Collegiate Club Championship Ninth Place game at the Carlisle YMCA Aquatic Center.
Dartmouth – which previously finished First (1997), Fourth (2013, 2015), Sixth (2012), Seventh (2001, 2003), Eighth (2008) and Ninth (2022) at the Men’s National Collegiate Club Championship – tacks on another Top 10 finish to its legacy as the Big Green have never finished below Ninth in their appearances at the championship event.
Michigan adds a 10th Place finish to a history that includes three National Championships (1996, 1998, 2003) along with Third (2022), Fourth (2004, 2016), Fifth (2015), Seventh (2017), Eighth (2018), Ninth (2012) and 12th (2024) marks.
The Wolverines gained an early lead in the game as Mark Flautner (Fr., Ann Arbor, Mich.) converted a man-up opportunity with 4:58 left in the first quarter. Dartmouth pulled even with 22 seconds to play in the opening frame as Nilsson nailed a power-play strike to balance the scoreboard at one-all through seven minutes of competition.
Justin Stone (La Jolla, Calif.) (6:33) and Sweeney (5:18, penalty shot) placed the Big Green in front to stay as the Dartmouth duo deposited a pair of markers to acquire a 3-1 lead. Chase Richardson (Jr., Royal Oak, Mich.) dinged Dartmouth by cashing in a six-on-five bid at 3:05, but Sweeney (1:47) and Luke Fesnak (Philadelphia, Pa.) (1:18) brought the curtain down on the second quarter as the Big Green went into halftime holding a 5-2 advantage on the scoresheet.
Flautner pulled the Wolverines to within a pair at 5-3 via a man-up score in the third quarter (5:04), but Nilsson (4:44) and Nic Nikcevic (Palo Alto, Calif.) (3:25) swept in natural goals to expand Dartmouth’s lead to 7-3.
Flautner terminated the Big Green’s flow by cashing in a man-up opportunity at 2:13, Nilsson struck again at 1:21 and Flautner flummoxed the Dartmouth defense with his fourth goal of the afternoon with 53 seconds on the clock via a penalty shot as the Wolverines hung around at 8-5 heading into the fourth quarter.
Following a score by Sweeney with 5:26 left in the fourth quarter, Flautner finished his day on the offensive end of the tank by tossing in his game-high fifth goal to put the Maize & Blue within three at 9-6.
However, the Big Green were money down the stretch as Nikcevic (3:07), Nilsson (2:27) and Sweeney (1:44) tacked on insurance as Dartmouth doubled-up Michigan by a 12-6 score.
For Michigan, Flautner (five) and RIchardson accounted for all the Wolverines’ offense.
Nilsson (four), Sweeney (four) and Nikcevic (two) notched multi-goal games in combining for 10 of Dartmouth’s 12 goals with Stone and Fesnak chipping in the remainder.
| 1st Q | 2nd Q | 3rd Q | 4th Q | – | FINAL | |
| No. 8 University of Michigan | 1 | 1 | 3 | 1 | – | 6 |
| No. 17 Dartmouth College | 1 | 4 | 3 | 4 | – | 12 |
| Dartmouth Goals: | Kip Nilsson (4); Max Sweeney (4); Nik Nikcevic (2); Justin Stone; Luke Fesnak | |||||
| Michigan Goals: | Mark Flautner (5); Chase Richardson | |||||
| Exclusions: | Dartmouth – 10 ; Michigan – 5 | |||||
| Advantage Opportunities: | Dartmouth – 2-for-5 ; Michigan – 6-for-10 | |||||
| Sprints: | Dartmouth – 1-for-4 (3rd) ; Michigan – 3-for-4 (1st, 2nd, 4th) | |||||
| Cards/Misconducts: | None | |||||
| Officials: | Matt Stuckwisch, Chad Quinn | |||||
The University of Michigan’s William Dinkeloo (#1) tries to save a shot by Dartmouth College’s Max Sweeney (#7)
The University of Michigan’s Ben Edlund (#15) & Dartmouth College’s Max Sweeney (#7)
Dartmouth College’s Nick Lutzky (#1) gears up to stop a shot by the University of Michigan’s Ian Cardenas (#10)
