TUCSON, Arizona — Seth Hughes (Jr., Chicago, Ill.) scored a hat-trick and goalie Ryan Candlish (Sr., Los Angeles, Calif.) turned away seven shots to share Player of the Game honors as No. 17-ranked Rocky Mountain Division Champion the University of Utah made history in downing No. 1/Pacific Coast Division Champion California Polytechnic State University in the semifinals of the 2018 Men’s National Collegiate Club Championship at the University of Arizona.
Utah, which is making its first appearance at the championship since hosting the event in 2014 at the Kearns Oquirrh Park Fitness Center in Kearns, Utah, will face 2014, 2015, and 2016 National Champion Lindenwood University at 12:45 p.m. on Sunday, November 11, for the 2018 National Championship. The meeting is history as the as the Utes of Salt Lake City, Utah and the Lions of Saint Charles, Mo., which knocked off No. 1/Sierra Pacific Division Champion the University of California by a 17-13 final score, comprise the first National Championship pairing that does not feature a school from California since Michigan State University and fellow Michigan institution Grand Valley State University met in 2006. Since the MSU-GVSU meeting (won by Michigan State), a California school has played for the title every year.
A five-time qualifier for the championship, Utah previously finished Ninth (2007, at Arizona), Seventh (2009, at the University of Florida) and Fourth (2012 at the Osborn Aquatics Center/Oregon State University) – all marks the Utes have already surpassed by qualifying for the title tilt. Historically, Utah is the first Rocky Mountain Division team to make the title game as the University of Colorado was part of the Southwest Division in 1997 when the Buffaloes lost to Dartmouth College.
The semifinal clash between Utah and Cal Poly was close throughout the game as the teams were tied at three-all and five-all at the conclusion of the first quarter and half.
Jacob Roberts (Jr., Orange, Calif.) pushed the Mustangs ahead at 6-5 with 5:47 left in the third quarter to give Cal Poly its first lead in the game since a 1-0 margin with 5:40 left in the first quarter. However, the lead did not hold up until the conclusion of the third quarter as Hughes and Sam Huff (Sr. Salt Lake City, Utah) rifled in man-up chances at 2:23 and 13 seconds, respectively, to stake Utah to a 7-6 margin entering the final seven minutes of action.
Luke Walker (Sr., San Diego, Calif.) padded the lead to 8-6 36 seconds into the final frame with another man-up score. Following an even-strength strike by Roberts to cut Utah’s advantage on the scoreboard down to 8-7, the Utes converted on another man-up bid at 5:27 when Markus Foote (Gr., San Jose, Calif.) sailed in a shot to return the gap to a pair at 9-7.
Once again, Cal Poly fired back as Cole Carroll (Sr., San Diego, Calif.) cashed in on a man-up opportunity with 2:08 to play to move the Mustangs within striking distance at 9-8. However, Huff heaved in the deciding blow by putting away the ninth and final of Utah’s nine man-up strikes with 1:33 still on the clock for the 10-8 final score.
For Utah, Huff, Brandon Nguyen (Gr., Minneapolis, Minn.) and Walker all scored twice to join Hughes in posting mult-goal games, while Foote pumped in a solo strike.
Carroll and Roberts keyed the Cal Poly attack with three goals each for hat-tricks. Jared Schaner (So., Valley Center, Calif.) and Andrew Rivera (Jr., Santa Maria, Calif.) tossed in single goals and netminder Nathaniel Schmidt (Sr., Berkeley, Calif.) made six saves in taking the loss.
Cal Poly will wrap-up its participation at the tournament and 2018 season at 11:30 a.m. on November 11 against the other No. 1 team in the nation – California – for Third Place.
| 1st Q | 2nd Q | 3rd Q | 4th Q | – | FINAL | |
| California Polytechnic State University | 3 | 2 | 1 | 2 | – | 8 |
| University of Utah | 3 | 2 | 2 | 3 | – | 10 |
| Utah Goals: | Seth Hughes (3); Luke Walker (2); Sam Huff (2); Brendan Nguyen (2); Markus Foote | |||||
| Cal Poly Goals: | Jacob Roberts (3); Cole Carroll (3); Andrew Rivera; Jared Schaner | |||||
| Saves: | Utah – Ryan Candlish (7) ; Cal Poly – Nathaniel Schmidt (6) | |||||
| Exclusions: | Utah – 3 ; Cal Poly – 13 | |||||
| Advantage Opportunities: | Utah – 9-for-13 ; Cal Poly – 1-for-3 | |||||
| Sprints: | Utah – 4-for-4 ; Cal Poly – 0-for-4 | |||||
| Cards/Misconducts: | None | |||||
| Officials: | Don Lewis, Bruce Morehouse | |||||
University of Utah’s Sam Huff (#18)
California Polytechnic State University’s Jared Schaner (#4) defends the University of Utah’s Sage Helton (#9)
University of Utah’s Seth Hughes (#13) shoots through the California Polytechnic State University defense
