MENU
Print Friendly, PDF & Email

TUCSON, Arizona — No. 20-ranked/host/Southwest Division Third Place finisher the University of Arizona received scoring from eight different players and five saves by Player of the Game Jack Garcia (Laguna Beach, Calif.) to overcome No. 12/Mid-Atlantic Division Champion Villanova University, 12-8, in the 11th Place and final game of the 2018 Men’s National Collegiate Club Championship hosted by the Collegiate Water Polo Association (CWPA) at Arizona’s Student Recreation Center.

Arizona, which made the 16-team championship field as the host institution, received pairs of tallies from David Miller (Irvine, Calif.), Jon Miller (Irvine, Calif.), Hayden Roletter (Newport Beach, Calif.) and Gus Kelly (Palm Springs, Calif.) to claim 11th place in the final game of the 30-contest National Championship tournament.

In a battle of two institutions with Wildcats as their mascot, it was the East Coast variety that gained the early upper paw as Greg King (So., Bethesda, Md.) broke free to draw first blood with 3:46 left in the first quarter.  Following an equalizer by Ian Barton (Fullerton, Calif.) at 2:44, Villanova regained the lead before the end of the opening frame as King converted on a five-meter penalty shot chance at 2:11 to make it 2-1 after seven minutes of action.

Connor Farrell (So., Glastonbury, Conn.) expanded the margin to 3-1 with 5:53 left in the second quarter, but Arizona growled back as Kelly and Jon Miller connected on man-up (5:16) and natural (4:48) blows, respectively, to even the damage at three-all.

Arizona pushed ahead for the first time with 4:19 until halftime as Jake Wait (Reno, Nev.) converted a six-on-five chance to grab a 4-3 scoreboard advantage. Villanova fired back, however, as Will Marvin (So., Stamford, Conn.) squared the squads at four-all with a man-up strike of his own at 2:18 before returning the lead to his team at 5-4 with an even-strength score at 1:21.  Following a missed penalty shot, Villanova acquired a two-goal lead as Patrick Heard (Fr. ,Towson, Md.) slipped in a shot with 31 seconds to go ahead 6-4.

Arizona shaved its deficit down to a single goal prior to the halftime horn as Roletter ripped home a six-on-five opportunity with five seconds remaining as Villanova entered the break with a narrow 6-5 lead.

The third quarter told the tale of the game as Arizona exploited Villanova defensive lapses and kept the East Coast Wildcats off the scoreboard to turn a one-goal deficit into an 8-6 lead going into the fourth quarter.

Following over four minutes of scoreless action in the third quarter, Mohammad Alboloush (Kuwait) started the Rocky Mountain Wildcats’ run by finding the back of the cage at 2:46 to even the score at six-all before Jon Miller placed Arizona in front to stay at 1:40.  David Miller closed out the quarter with a man-up strike at the 52 seconds mark to build the lead to 8-6.

In the fourth quarter, Kelly widened the gap to 9-6 (6:41) before Marvin snapped 8:22 of scoreless water polo by Villanova by bounding in a power-play chance at 6:09 to inch his team back within a pair at 9-7.

However, the host Wildcats rampaged with an even-strength hook by Roletter (5:42) and man-up jabs by Ryan Salaz (Rancho Cucamonga, Calif.) (4:25) and David Miller (3:36) to acquire a commanding 12-7 lead.

Villanova clipped its final deficit down to four before the concluding buzzer as Marvin put away his fourth goal with 1:53 still on the clock for the 12-8 final score.

For Arizona – which returned to the Men’s National Collegiate Club Championship for the first time since an appearance at the 2009 event at the University of Florida –  Salak, Wait, Barton and Alboloush each notched solo strikes in support of Garcia’s winning effort between the pipes.

The 11th place finish marks the first non-Top Five spot for Arizona as the Wildcats previously earned Second (2004), Third (2005, 2009) and Fourth (2003, 2006, 2007) marks.

Villanova – which guaranteed the Mid-Atlantic Division the No. 11 spot in the 2019 Men’s National Collegiate Club Championship field as Arizona’s host spot at No. 11 will be removed when allocating spots for next year’s event – received four goals by Marvin, a pair by King and solo tallies by Farrell and Heard. Goalie James Terhune (So., Darien, Conn.) took the loss with six saves.

A six-time Mid-Atlantic Division Champion (2000, 2001, 2003, 2004, 2011, 2018), Villanova has now finished second (2001), fifth (2000), seventh (2004), 10th (2003) and 12th (2011, 2018) in the program’s six trips to the National Collegiate Club Championship.

1st Q 2nd Q 3rd Q 4th Q FINAL
Villanova University 2 4 0 2 8
University of Arizona 4 4 3 4 12
Arizona Goals: David Miller (2); Jon Miller (2); Gus Kelly (2); Hayden Roletter (2); Mohammad Alboloush; Ian Barton; Ryan Salaz; Jake Wait
Villanova Goals: Will Marvin (4); Greg King (2); Patrick Heard; Connor Farrell
Saves: Arizona -Jack Garcia (5), Mohammad Alboloush (1) ; Villanova – James Terhune (6)
Exclusions: Arizona – 9 ; Villanova – 8
Advantage Opportunities: Arizona – 6-for-8 ; Villanova – 3-for-9
Sprints: Arizona – 2-for-4 (2nd, 4th) ; Villanova – 2-for-4 (1st, 3rd)
Cards/Misconducts: None
Officials: Mike McMahon, Don Lewis

 

Villanova University’s Peter Cashmere (#11) comes over the top of Jon Miller (#11) from the University of Arizona

University of Arizona’s Hayden Roletter (#13) looks to shoot as Villanova University’s Mike Brennan (#2) defends

Villanova University’s Connor Farrell (#4) eludes the University of Arizona’s Jon Miller (#9)

University of Arizona’s Mohammad Alboloush (#11)

Collegiate Water Polo Association