GRESHAM, Ore. — Six different Ducks from Northwest Division Championship Runner-Up/No. 19-ranked the University of Oregon scored as the squad took down Mid-Atlantic Division Champion/No. 8 Pennsylvania State University, 11-8, in the Ninth Place game of the 2018 Women’s National Collegiate Club Championship hosted by the University of Washington at Mt. Hood Community College.
Making the program’s 13th appearance at the National Collegiate Club Championship with prior Second (2008), Third (2009), Fourth (2001, 2010, 2011), Fifth (2007) Eighth (2005, 2015), 10th (2002), 11th (2014)13th (2006) and 15th (2012) Place marks, Oregon needed to comeback from deficits of 6-4 and 7-6 at the conclusion of halftime and the third quarter to shock the Nittany Lions.
Trailing by one at 7-6 going into the final quarter of action, the Ducks fell further behind to start the final frame as PSU’s Claire Beno (Fr., Perkasie, Pa.) put away a shot with 4:42 left in regulation to provide Penn State an 8-6 lead.
However, the Ducks went into water polo’s equivalent of the Flying V as Sammie Garcia (So., Costa Mesa, Calif.) put home man-up score (4:16) and Sarah Cudworth (Jr., Nevada City, Calif.) twirled in an even-strength tally at 2:36 to balance the scoreboard at eight-all.
Oregon was not done scoring, however, as Sophia Gemelas (Jr., Madras, Ore.) buried the game-winner at 1:56 prior to Player of the Game Ann Neufeld (So., Merced, Calif.) and Katie Hansen (Sr., Orange County, Calif.) concussing the cage with natural markers with 1:07 and 20 seconds on the clock, respectively, for the 11-8 final score.
For Oregon, Neufeld finished with three goals, while Garcia, Cudworth and Hansen each accounted for pairs. Kate Goldworthy (Jr., Salem, Ore.) and Gemelas notched solo strikes to go along with seven saves by goalie Corinn Canfield (So., Davenport, Calif.).
Beno and Emily Argentati (Jr., Reading, Pa.) both posted hat-tricks with three goals for Penn State, while Sarah Anderson (Jr., Naperville, Ill.) and Ashley Southwick (So., Reading, Pa.) chipped in single scores. Sofia Viebranz (So., Erie, Pa.) took the loss with five saves.
For Penn State, which previously finished in Seventh (2007, 2015), Eighth (2011), 10th (2001) and 11th (2005, 2017) place at the Women’s National Collegiate Club Championship, the game appeared destined to go their way through the conclusion of the third quarter.
The Nittany Lions jumped on the scoreboard first as Argentiati (6:43) and Anderson (5:28) pushed PSU out to a 2-0 lead in the first 92 seconds of the game. Neufeld delivered a response for Oregon in the form of a power-play marker at 1:27, but Southwick got the goal back for the Lions with seven seconds remaining in the opening frame to make it 3-1.
Penn State pulled further away in the opening moments of the second quarter as Beno bashed in back-to-back opportunities at 4:00 and 3:19 to enlarge the margin to 5-1.
The tide began to turn, however, as Neufeld (2:30) and Cudworth (2:00) notched back-to-back natural goals prior to Hansen burying a five-meter penalty shot (1:33) to close within 5-4. But, Penn State went back in front by a pair prior to halftime as Argentati put away a six-on-five bid with 27 seconds remaining in the second quarter.
Oregon continued to battle in chipping its deficit down to nothing as Garcia (5:53, even-strength) and Goldworthy (3:25, man-up) deadlocked the squads at six-all.
Tied for the first time since the opening 17 seconds prior to Argentati’s icebreaker in the first quarter, the Nittany Lions went back in front at 7-6 thanks to another strike by Argentati with eight seconds to go in the third quarter to set up the dramatic fourth quarter comeback by Oregon.
| 1st Q | 2nd Q | 3rd Q | 4th Q | – | FINAL | |
| No. 8 Pennsylvania State University | 3 | 3 | 1 | 1 | – | 8 |
| No. 19 University of Oregon | 1 | 3 | 2 | 5 | – | 11 |
| Oregon Goals: | Anna Neufeld (3); Sammie Garcia (2); Sarah Cudworth (2); Katie Hansen (2); Kate Goldworthy; Sophia Gemelas | |||||
| Penn State Goals: | Claire Beno (3); Emily Argentati (3); Sarah Anderson; Ashley Southwick | |||||
| Saves: | Oregon – Corinn Canfield (7) ; Penn State – Sofia Viebranz (5) | |||||
| Exclusions: | Oregon – 8 ; Penn State – 8 | |||||
| Advantage Opportunities: | Oregon – 4-for-8 ; Penn State – 1-for-8 | |||||
| Sprints: | Oregon – 2-for-4 (2nd, 4th) ; Penn State – 2-for-4 (1st, 3rd) | |||||
| Cards/Misconducts: | None | |||||
| Officials: | Marvel Shoen, Tony Karaman | |||||
Pennsylvania State University’s Claire Washabaugh (#4) lobs a shot over the University of Oregon’s Sophia Gemelas (#3)
Pennsylvania State University’s Claire Beno (#5) tries to stops a pass from the University of Oregon’s Sophia Gemelas (#3)
University of Oregon’s Sophia Gemelas (#3)
