HUNTSVILLE, Alabama — Big Ten Division Champion/No. 2-ranked Michigan State University outscored New York Division Champion Cornell University by an 8-2 count over the final 21 minutes of competition as the Spartans took down the Big Red, 12-5, in the opening round of the 2021 Men’s National Collegiate Club Championship at the Huntsville Aquatics Center.
The win advances the three-time (2000, 2006, 2008) National Champion Spartans into the quarterfinals where MSU will face Rocky Mountain Division Champion/No. 6 University of Colorado on Saturday, November 13, at 10:10 a.m. Cornell falls into the consolation side of the bracket as the Big Red will battle Southeast Division Champion the Georgia Institute of Technology at 6:20 p.m. on Friday, November 12. Due to the loss to Michigan State, Cornell can not finish higher than Ninth in the final tournament standings.
- Michigan State never trailed versus Cornell as the Spartans stormed out to a 2-0 lead in less than ninety seconds thanks to strikes by Gavin Saur (Jr., Rockford, Mich.) and Player of the Game Ian Worst (So., Hudsonville, Mich.) at the 6:32 and 5:47 marks, respectively.
- YJ Lee shrank Cornell’s deficit down to one by burying an opportunity at 5:36, but Worst (4:23, even-strength) and Ben Daugherty (Sr., Dexter, Mich.) (3:02, man-up) swished chances to widen the margin to 4-1.
- Cornell once again inched closer to tying the Spartans as Alejandro Sabo (Jr. Miami, Fla.) and Alexander Seyer (Fr., St. Louis, Mo.) put away man-up (1:54) and penalty shot (38 seconds) opportunities, respectively, to close the gap down to 4-3 after seven minutes of competition.
- However, Michigan State pulled away in the second quarter as Worst (4:58, man-up; 2:21, eve-strength), Ewan Woolcock (Sr., Okemos, Mich.) (4:23, even-strength) and Derek Zahnleuter (Sr., Rockford, Mich.) (2:05) fueled a 4-0 run to enlarge the Spartans’ lead to 8-3.
- Ryan Schildwachter (Sr., Newport Beach, Calif.) chipped a goal off Cornell’s deficit prior to halftime by bounding in a ball on a man-up bid with 1:01 at halftime to inch the Big Red to within 8-4 by the midway point.
- Neither team scored until the 3:25 mark of the third quarter as Worst whipped in a five-meter penalty shot to make it 9-4. Zach Sprague (Jr., East Grand Rapids, Mich.) further cushioned the margin to 10-4 prior to the close of the frame by drilling in another five-meter penalty shot with 2:49 on the clock.
- Michigan State closed out its scoring midway through the fourth quarter as Saur (3:27) and Zahnleuter (3:01) capped off a 4-0 second half scoring outburst by the Spartans to acquire a 12-4 lead.
- Seyer completed the scoring by putting away a natural goal with 19 seconds left on the clock for the 12-5 final.
- For Michigan State, Worst (five), Saur (two) and Zahnleuter (two) each posted multi-goal games with Sprague, Daugherty and Woolcock accounting for solo tallies in support of a performance by goalie Ethan Springer (Jr., Hudsonville, Mich.) between the pipes.
- Seyer (two) powered the Cornell attack with Sabo, YJ and Schildwachter each chippig in single goals. Michael Smith (Gr., Valencia, Calif.) took the loss in cage.
| 1st Q | 2nd Q | 3rd Q | 4th Q | – | FINAL | |
| Cornell University | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | – | 5 |
| Michigan State University | 4 | 4 | 2 | 2 | – | 12 |
| Michigan State Goals: | Ian Worst (5); Gavin Saur (2); Derek Zahnleuter (2); Zach Sprague; Ben Daugherty; Ewan Woolcock | |||||
| Cornell Goals: | Alexander Seyer (2); Alejandro Sabo; YJ Lee; Ryan Schildwachter | |||||
| Saves: | Michigan State – Ethan Springer ; Cornell – Michael Smith | |||||
| Exclusions: | Michigan State – 11 ; Cornell – 12 | |||||
| Advantage Opportunities: | Michigan State – 4-for-12 ; Cornell – 1-for-11 | |||||
| Sprints: | Michigan State – 4-for-4 ; Cornell -0-for-4 | |||||
| Cards/Misconducts: | None | |||||
| Officials: | Steve Sargalski; Valer Rarau | |||||
Michigan State University’s Ian Worst (#3) scores against Cornell University goalie Michael Smith (#1)
Cornell University’s Eric Osband (#5) lofts a shot over Michigan State University’s Wesley Obetts (#10)
Michigan State University’s Jack Sikkema (#7) lines up a shot as Cornell University’s Adam Hollingworth (#15) defends
