GRESHAM, Ore. — Maddie David (Fr., Pleasanton, Calif.) scored four times to rack-up Player of the Game status as Pacific Coast Division Champion/No. 2-ranked California Polytechnic State University knocked off host/Northwest Division Champion/No. 6 University of Washington, 12-5, in the quarterfinals of the 2018 Women’s National Collegiate Club Championship at Mt. Hood Community College.
Courtesy the win, Cal Poly advances into the tournament semifinals at 6:20 p.m. Pacific/9:20 p.m. Eastern later tonight as the Mustangs will meet the victor of a quarterfinal between Southwest Division Champion/No. 11 University of California-San Diego and and Midwest Division Champion/No. 10 Lindenwood University.
Cal Poly never trailed against Washington in opening up a 4-0 lead in the first quarter as Claudia Macedo (Sr., San Martin, Calif.) and David lined in advantage opportunities with 6:30 and 3:37 on the clock, respectively, prior to posting even-strength scores with 59 and 22 seconds left.
Karli Stevenson (So., Tacoma, Wash.) and Mary Elizabeth Ward (Jr., San Rafael, Calif.) sliced into the lead with back-to-back natural tallies at the 5:46 and 2:10 marks of the second quarter to move Washington within 4-2. Cal Poly got one of the scores back prior to halftime as David deposited a ball into the cage to complete a hat-trick and make it 5-2 at the break.
Taylor Best (Sr., Yorba Linda, Calif.) returned the lead to four scores (6-2) with 4:36 left in the third quarter by cashing in on a six-on-five opportunity, but Ward delivered a response for Washington with 1:34 to narrow the gap back to three at 6-3 going into the fourth quarter.
Both teams hit the twine to start the final frame as the Mustangs’ Emily Milton (Fr., Reedley, Calif.) and the Huskies’ Kacey Kuchenbecker (Jr., Kanehoe, Hawaii) hurled in strikes at 5:55 and 5:36, respectively, to keep the margin at three (7-4).
However, Cal Poly put the game out of reach by rattling off three goals as David (4:49, man-up), Gabi Fabri (So., Sacramento, Calif.) (3:51, even-strength) and Meagan Vail (So., Lompoc, Calif.) (1:58, man-up) went back-to-back-to-back to expand the Mustangs’ lead to 10-4 with under two minutes to play.
Lauren Hickey (Gr., Palos Verdes, Calif.) stopped Cal Poly’s run by converting a man-up chance with 1:44 remaining to pull within 10-5 prior to Vail slicing in a shot with 37 seconds left to finalize the 11-5 final score.
For the Mustangs, Macedo and Vail both joined David in recording multi-goal games as the duo put away pairs. Best, Fabri and Milton each notched solo tallies. Goalie Sierra Sheeper (Sr., Menlo Park, Calif.) earned the win with 14 saves in 24 minutes of work prior to Sammi Tovani (So., Danville, Calif.) coming in to make two saves in the final four minutes.
On the other end of the tank, Ward scored twice with Stevenson, Kuchenbecker and Hickey each chipping in solo markers. Goalie Elizabeth Lipps (Sr, Menlo Park, Calif.) took the loss with 10 saves.
The defeat drops Washington into the consolation side of the bracket as the Huskies will face the loser of the Lindenwood-vs.-UC-San Diego game at 7:30 p.m. Pacific/10:30 p.m. Eastern tonight with a spot in the Fifth Place game on the line.
Overall, the Huskies are on the cusp of either tying or recording the program’s second best finish at the Women’s National Collegiate Club Championship following previous First (2000), Sixth (2003), Seventh (2016, 2017), Eighth (2004) and 13th (2008) positions.
| 1st Q | 2nd Q | 3rd Q | 4th Q | – | FINAL | |
| No. 2 California Polytechnic State University | 4 | 1 | 1 | 5 | – | 11 |
| No. 6 University of Washington | 0 | 2 | 1 | 2 | – | 5 |
| Washington Goals: | Mary Elizabeth Ward (2); Karli Stevenson; Kacey Kuchenbecker; Lauren Hickey | |||||
| Cal Poly Goals: | Maddie David (4); Claudia Macedo (2); Meagan Vail (2); Taylor Best; Gabi Fabri; Emily Milton | |||||
| Saves: | Washington – Elizabeth Lipps (10) ; Cal Poly – Sierra Sheeper (14, 24:00), Sammi Tovani (2, 4 minutes) | |||||
| Exclusions: | Washington – 5 ; Cal Poly – 6 | |||||
| Advantage Opportunities: | Washington – 1-for-6 ; Cal Poly – 5-for-5 | |||||
| Sprints: | Washington – 0-for-4 ; Cal Poly – 4-for-4 | |||||
| Cards/Misconducts: | None | |||||
| Officials: | Gene Gill, Marvel Shoen | |||||
California Polytechnic State University’s Hannah Vaughn-Hulbert (#20) loses her grip on the ball as the University of Washington’s Karli Stevenson (#4) defends
University of Washington’s Elizabeth Lipps (#1)
California Polytechnic State University goalie Sierra Sheeper (#1)
University of Washington’s Jalene Weatherholt (#17) shoots out directions as California Polytechnic State University’s Hannah Vaughn-Hulbert (#20) stalks
