CARLISLE, Pa. — Owen Helenski (Fr., Conshohocken, Pa.) scored five times to notch Player of the Game honors as Great Lakes Division Champion/No. 19-ranked the University of Notre Dame overcame Mid-Atlantic Division runner-up Villanova University, 10-6, in the 12th and final game on day one of the 2025 Men’s National Collegiate Club Championship.
Competing at the Carlisle YMCA Aquatic Center, the Irish outscored the Wildcats 3-1 and 4-2 in the first and second quarters, respectively, to build a margin which Villanova was unable to overcome during the 14-minutes of the second half. A factor in the contest was the presence of Irish netminder Thomas Lercari (Rancho Palos Verdes, Calif.) as the first-year law school student and 2024 Mid-Atlantic Water Polo Conference (MAWPC) varsity Most Valuable Player (MVP) stymied the Wildcats’ to keep Notre Dame comfortably ahead throughout the majority of the contest.
The win punches the Great Lakes Division Champion’s ticket to another consolation game at 1:40 p.m. on Saturday, November 8, against New England Division Champion/No. 17 Dartmouth College. The winner of the Notre Dame-Dartmouth game claims a spot in the Ninth Place game at 2:15 p.m. on Sunday, November 9, against the victor of a clash between Big Ten Division Champion/No. 8 the University of Michigan and Northwest Division Champion the University of Washington. The loser of the Irish-Big Green meeting takes on the fallen from the Wolverines-Huskies clash at 3:30 p.m. on November 9 for 11th Place in the 30th and final game of the weekend.
The host of the 2004 and 2016 National Collegiate Club Championships, Notre Dame is seeking the team’s inaugural Top 10 finish as the squad previously claimed 13th (2004) and 11th (2016, 2019) place during its three previous tries at claiming the crown.
Villanova – which made the field as the host Mid-Atlantic Division representative/No. 16 seed following a 13-12 overtime loss at home to No. 15 Pennsylvania State University for the division tilt – will see its season come to an end at 8:40 p.m. on Saturday, November 8, when the Wildcats face New York Division Champion Columbia University in a 13th/15th Place game.
Due to time constraints, the 13th and 15th Place positions are not played out with the winners and losers of the final two games on Day Two of the National Collegiate Club Championship tying for 13th and 15th, respectively, in the 16-team field.
In the history of the Men’s National Collegiate Club Championship, Villanova has previously claimed Second (2001), Fifth (2000), Seventh (2004), 10th (203) and 12th (2011, 2018) Place in six prior trips to the event.
The Wildcats have a chance to tie with or best nemesis Penn State in the final championship standings as the Nittany Lions will face Missouri Valley Division Champion the University of Missouri at 9:50 p.m. on November 8 in the other 13th/15th Place game.
Villanova led once versus Notre Dame as Stefano Triant (Jr., Ottsville, Pa.) put a shot into the cage with 4:43 remaining in the first quarter to stake the Wildcats to a 1-0 margin.
The lead lasted for over a minute until Helenski equalized the score at the 3:32 mark and put the Irish in front to stay with another strike at 2:53. Classmate Michael Skale (Fr., St. Louis, Mo.) padded Notre Dame’s lead to 3-1 prior to the close of the first quarter by spinning a ball into the twine at 1:33.
In the second quarter, Ernest Gallo (Fr., Modesto, Calif.) (5:23) and Helenski (5:54; 3:31; 2:47) continued a 7-0 scoring run by Notre Dame before Patrick Cucchiarelli (Jr., North Branford, Conn.) terminated the spree by cashing in a penalty shot at 2:37 to move Villanova back to within five at 7-2. Cucchiarelli finished off the first half by lobbing in his second goal with 29 seconds until the break as the Wildcats inched closer at 7-3.
Skale welcomed Villanova to the third quarter by connecting for a natural tally at 4:54, but Parker Doble (Fr., Newbury Park, Calif.) and David Choi (Sr., Pennington, N.J.) responded with a pair of markers at 1:47 and 51 seconds, respectively, to make it a game at 8-5 heading into the fourth quarter.
Notre Dame managed to quell any hopes of a Villanova comeback try as Gallo (6:23) and Skale (3:08) sandwiched a goal by Doble (5:31) to stymie the Wildcats’ dreams and escape with a 10-6 win.
For Villanova, Cucchiarelli and Doble led the way with pairs of goals while Triant and Choi tacked on solo strikes.
Helenski (five), Skale (three) and Gallo (two) combined for all 10 of Notre Dame’s goals.
| 1st Q | 2nd Q | 3rd Q | 4th Q | – | FINAL | |
| No. 19 University of Notre Dame | 3 | 4 | 1 | 2 | – | 10 |
| Villanova University | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1 | – | 6 |
| Villanova Goals: | Patrick Cucchiarelli (2); Parker Doble (2); Stefano Triant; David Choi | |||||
| Notre Dame Goals: | Owen Helenski (5); Michael Skale (3); Ernest Gallo (2) | |||||
| Exclusions: | Villanova – 2 ; Notre Dame – 4 | |||||
| Advantage Opportunities: | Villanova – 1-for-4 ; Notre Dame – 0-for-2 | |||||
| Sprints: | Villanova – 3-for-4 (1st, 2nd, 3rd) ; Notre Dame – 1-for-4 (4th) | |||||
| Cards/Misconducts: | None | |||||
| Officials: | Kevin Jauregui, Matt Stuckwisch | |||||
University of Notre Dame’s Nate Pennington (#11) lines up a shot against Villanova University goalkeeper Evan Merkov (#1)
University of Notre Dame’s Zachary Jones (#6) & Villanova University’s Patrick Cucchiarelli (#6)
University of Notre Dame’s Thomas Lercari (#1)
University of Notre Dames Zachary Jones (#6) attempts to block a shot by Villanova University’s Stefano Triant (#20)
