PITTSBURGH, Pa. — Michael Dougherty (Jr., Ambler, Pa.) scored only once, but picked a good time to net his lone marker of the contest, as he lined a shot cross cage inside the left post for the game-winner as Mid-Atlantic Division Champion/No. 19-ranked Pennsylvania State University penned Texas Division Champion/No. 11 the University of Texas, 9-8, in the first round of the 2019 Men’s National Collegiate Club Championship at the University of Pittsburgh’s Trees Pool.
- Penn State advances into the tournament’s quarterfinals where the Nittany Lions will square-off with Pacific Coast Division Champion/No. 3-ranked the University of Southern California at 12:30 p.m. on Saturday, November 16. USC advanced into the quarterfinals with a 21-7 defeat of Atlantic Division Champion/No. 19 the United States Naval Academy earlier in the tournament.
- The loss drops Texas into the consolation side of the bracket as the Longhorns will take on Navy at 7:30 p.m. A win guarantees Texas will finish no lower than 11th place in the final 16-team standings, while a loss puts the Longorns into a 13th/15th place game during the evening of November 16.
- Texas never led against Penn State as the Nittany Lions raced out to a 4-0 lead by the 2:20 mark of the first quarter thanks to back-to-back-to-back-to-back strikes from Ethan Lionetti (Fr., Perkasie, Pa.) (5:33, even-strength), Shane Markus (Jr., North Wales, Pa.) (4:34, man-up / 3:23, man-up) and Tan Kocyildirim (Fr., Pittsburgh, Pa.) (2:20, man-up).
- The Longhorns broke the ice prior to the conclusion of the first quarter as Easton Honaker (Jr., Dallas, Texas) lined in a five-meter penalty shot with 31 seconds left to move Texas within 4-1 after seven minutes of action.
- Texas continued to wrangle Penn State closer as Alex Raterink (Jr, Friendswood, Texas) (5:57, even-strength) and Mark Weisberg (Fr., Dallas, Texas) (4:36, man-up) collared the Nittany Lions in the second quarter to close the gap down to 4-3 heading into the second half.
- Honaker squared the squads at four-all with 5:49 left in the third quarter to heaving in the equalizer, but Calvin Behm (Fr., Erie, Pa.) pushed Penn State back into the lead and added some insurance with consecutive strikes at the 3:09 and two seconds marks to provide PSU what appeared to be a marginally comfortable lead at 6-4.
- The Nittany Lions widened the chasm further as Lionetti broke free for a score at 5:27 to make it 7-4.
- However, Texas elected to give PSU the horns as Raterink (4:04), Mitchell Kim (Sr., Los Angeles, Calif.) (2:57) and Nathan Craig (Sr., Friendswood, Texas) (2:27) gored Penn State to make it seven-all.
- Daniel Berring (So., Ambler, Pa.) returned the lead to the Nittany Lions at 8-7 with a score at 2:11, but Craig balanced the scoreboard at eight-all with 35 seconds left to raise the possibility of overtime.
- However, Dougherty eliminated the chance of extra-time by lining in the deciding blow with 25 ticks left on the clock. The Nittany Lions’ defense did the rest in forcing a turnover in front of their own cage to escape with a 9-8 victory.
- For Penn State, Behm, Markus and Lionetti all scored twice with Dougherty, Berring and Kocyildirim each finding the back of the cage once. Goalie Antonio Bosca (Sr., Flourtown, Pa.) picked up the win with 13 saves.
- Honaker, Raterink and Craig all scored twice to lead the way for Texas with Kim and Weisberg chipping in solo markers. Aidan Rossiter (Sr., Orinda, Calif.) took the loss in cage with eight stops.
| 1st Q | 2nd Q | 3rd Q | 4th Q | – | FINAL | |
| No. 19 Pennsylvania State University | 4 | 0 | 2 | 3 | – | 9 |
| No. 11 University of Texas | 1 | 2 | 1 | 4 | – | 8 |
| Texas Goals: | Ethan Honaker (2); Alex Raterink (2); Nathan Craig (2); Mitchell Kim; Mark Weisberg | |||||
| Penn State Goals: | Calvin Behm (2); Ethan Lionetti (2); Shane Markus (2); Michael Dougherty; Daniel Berring; Tan Kocyildirim | |||||
| Saves: | Texas – Aidan Rossiter (8) ; Penn State – Antonio Bosca (13) | |||||
| Exclusions: | Texas – 5 ; Penn State – 10 | |||||
| Advantage Opportunities: | Texas – 2-for-10 ; Penn State – 3-for-5 | |||||
| Sprints: | Texas – 3-for-4 (2nd, 3rd, 4th) ; Penn State – 1-for-4 (1st) | |||||
| Cards/Misconducts: | Penn State – YC (Head coach Aaron Lionetti, 5:27 left in 4th Q) | |||||
| Officials: | Martin Murray; Steve Sargalski | |||||
Pennsylvania State University’s Calvin Behm (#13) comes out to defend the University of Texas’ Mark Weisberg (#4)
University of Texas’ Easton Honaker (#2) goes for the ball against Pennsylvania State University’s Steven Solis (#8)
University of Texas’ Alex Raterink (#17) looks for an opening as Pennsylvania State University’s Steven Solis (#8) defends
