NEWBERG, Ore. — Andrew Burda (Sr., San Diego, Calif.) and Matt Spry (Fr., Santee, Calif.) both scored twice and goalkeeper Bryce Elsner (Jr., Carlsbad, Calif.) posted 12 saves as No. 2-ranked/Southwest Division Champion the University of California-San Diego outlasted No. 1/Pacific Coast Division Champion California Polytechnic State University, 7-6, in the 2022 Men’s National Collegiate Club Championship title game.
UC-San Diego – which completes its set of championship plaques (first, second, third) after previously placing Second (2021), Third (2019), Fifth (2018) and Ninth (2013) at the Men’s National Collegiate Club Championship – fell behind 2-0 in the first quarter as Cal Poly’s Dylan Weiglein (Sr., Pleasanton, Calif.) lined in shots at 5:15 and 2:41.
Jake Marquez (Sr., Foothill Rach, Calif.) split UC-San Diego’s deficit in half at the 5:24 mark of the second quarter, but Kyle Bistrain (Jr., Los Altos, Calif.) returned a two-goal spread to Cal Poly at 5:05 as the Mustangs led 3-1.
The lead evaporated over the final 69 seconds of the second quarter as Spry whipped in shots at 1:09 and at the buzzer to balance the scoreboard at three-all through 14 minutes of action.
The all-time leader in National Collegiate Club Championships with five (1999, 2001, 2002, 2004, 2007) in eight title game appearances (1999, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2007, 2008), the Mustangs regained the lead 67 seconds into the third quarter as Weiglein (5:53) delivered for Cal Poly.
Burda evened the damage at four-all at 1:47, Jack Sweet (Jr., Thousand Oaks, Calif.) answered for Cal Poly at 1:27 and Graham McClone (Gr., Placerville, Calif.) stuffed in another UC-San Diego equalizer with 39 seconds left as the top two teams in the national poll entered the fourth quarter squared at five-all.
The Tritons went ahead for the first time in the game with 3:34 remaining in the fourth quarter as Burda dented the twine to make it 6-5 in favor of UC-San Diego. Jackson Cassidy (Sr., San Diego, Calif.) cushioned the lead and provided the eventual game-winning goal at 1:56 as the Tritons claimed a 7-5 lead.
A five-time National Champion (1999, 2001, 2002, 2004, 2007) with prior Second (2003, 2008) Third (2000, 2017, 2018) and Fifth (2006) Place marks since 2000 at the National Collegiate Club Championship, Cal Poly refused to go down without one final surge.
Following a minute of back-and-forth action, the Mustangs chipped their deficit down to one with 31 seconds left as Dylan Chmelka (Jr, Del Mar, Calif.) lined in a shot to close the gap to 7-6.
UC-San Diego regained possession of the ball and ran the clock down to one second before Cal Poly called a timeout to set up one final shot. The Cal Poly athlete fired a shot prior the concluding horn which crossed the goal line, but the officials ruled the athlete did not put the ball in play prior to unleashing the potential game-winner.
For UC-San Diego, Marquez, Cassidy and McClone all notched solo strikes. Bryce Elsner (Jr., Carlsbad, Calif.) made 12 saves to earn the win.
Across the tank, Weiglein posted a hat-trick with Chmelka, Bistrain and Sweet accounting for the other half of the Mustangs’ scoring. Koby Ramage (Sr., Visalia, Calif.) netted 10 saves in cage for Cal Poly.
Following the championship, the All-Tournament team as announced with Marquez and UC-San Diego’s Hector Sanchez claiming Most Valuable Player and Coach of the Tournament status:
2022 Men’s National Collegiate Club All-Tournament Team
| 2022 Men’s National Collegiate Club Championship All-Tournament Team | |
| Most Valuable Player: | Jake Marquez (University of California-San Diego) |
| Coach of the Tournament: | Hector Sanchez (University of California-San Diego) |
| First Team | |
| Parker George (Goalie) | University of California-San Diego |
| Jake Marquez | University of California-San Diego |
| Graham McClone | University of California-San Diego |
| Joe Schaner | California Polytechnic State University |
| Christopher Wazzan | University of California |
| Luke Carey | University of Florida |
| Zach Hausner | Washington University in St. Louis |
| Second Team | |
| Koby Ramage (Goalie) | California Polytechnic State University |
| Dylan Chmelka | California Polytechnic State University |
| Jake Berring | Pennsylvania State University |
| Kai Mohl | University of California |
| Max Black | University of California-San Diego |
| Reid Schioldager | University of Colorado |
| Luke Jacobson | University of Michigan |
| 1st Q | 2nd Q | 3rd Q | 4th Q | – | FINAL | |
| No. 1 California Polytechnic State University |
2 | 1 | 2 | 1 | – | 6 |
| No. 2 University of California-San Diego | 0 | 3 | 2 | 2 | – | 7 |
| UCSD Goals: | Andrew Burda (2); Matt Spry (2); Jake Marquez; Jackson Cassidy; Graham McClone | |||||
| Cal Poly Goals: | Dylan Weiglein (3); Dylan Chmelka; Kyle Bistrain; Jack Sweet | |||||
| Saves: | UCSD – Bryce Elsner (12) ; Cal Poly – Koby Ramage (10) | |||||
| Exclusions: | UCSD – 10 ; Cal Poly – 12 | |||||
| Advantage Opportunities: | UCSD – 3-for-12 ; Cal Poly – 1-for-10 | |||||
| Sprints: | UCSD – 0-for-4 ; Cal Poly – 4-for-4 | |||||
| Cards/Misconducts: | None | |||||
| Officials: | Mark Seidemann, Gene Gill | |||||
University of California-San Diego’s Gonzalo Rivera (#12) attempts a pass against California Polytechnic State University’s Jake Anderson (#3)
California Polytechnic State University’s Nathan Williams (#8) attempts to lob a shot over the University of California-San Diego’s Matt Spry (#15)
University of California-San Diego’s Jake Marquez (#16)
