TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Player of the Game Rockne O’Brien (Jr., San Diego, Calif.) made five saves in three quarters of work as Southwest Division Champion/No. 3-ranked San Diego State University fell behind 1-0 early in the first quarter and responded with an 18-0 run to overwhelm Atlantic Division Champion/No. 15 Virginia Polytechnic Institute & State University, 22-2, in the opening round of the 2017 Men’s National Collegiate Club Championship at Florida State University’s Morcom Aquatics Center.
The 2014 and 2015 Men’s National Collegiate Club Championship runner-up and the Third Place finisher at last season’s championship, the Aztecs guaranteed themselves at least another Top Eight finish courtesy the victory.
SDSU will next be in action at 12:30 p.m. on Saturday, November 11, against the winner of a first round game pitting Sierra Pacific Division Champion/No. 2 University of California and Florida Division Champion/No. 13 University of Florida. Virginia Tech, which previously finished 15th (2007), 11th (2006) and 12th (2009) in three prior trips to the Men’s National Collegiate Club Championship, will aim to continue the march to best its previous high at 7:30 p.m. tonight against the fallen from the Cal-Florida clash.
San Diego State trailed only once in the game as Phil Dobrenz (Sr., Vienna, Va.) punched in the game’s first goal just 17 seconds into the contest to stake the Hokies to a quick 1-0 advantage on the scoreboard.
However, the Aztecs erased their deficit 15 seconds later when Josh Heller (Sr., The Atwater, Calif.) flipped in the equalizer with 6:28 left on the clock to begin a scoring outburst that lasted until the opening moments of the fourth quarter.
SDSU closed out the first quarter with five more strikes to build the gap to 6-1 prior to drilling in seven and four goals in the second and third quarters, respectively, to hold leads of 13-1 and 17-1 at halftime and with seven minutes to play in overpowering Virginia Tech.
Kyle Seume (Sr., Tustin, Calif.) padded the lead to 18-1 with a man-up marker at the 6:22 mark of the fourth quarter to cap off the Aztecs’ scoring run. Brian Thibodeau (Jr., Ashburn, Va.) finally answered for the Atlantic Division Champions with 5:07 remaining in the final frame to inch within 18-2, but the Aztecs closed out the game with another 4-0 scoring surge for a 20-goal margin of victory.
Heller led the way for San Diego State on offense with four goals, while Matthew French (Sr., Danville, Calif.), Seume, Peter DeSoto (So., Seal Beach, Calif.) and Spencer Shortill (Sr., San Diego, Calif.) each chipped in hat-tricks. Tim Barnett (So., Laguna Beach, Calif.) tacked on a pair, while Josh Scott (Fr., San Diego, Calif.), Brandon Holzhauer (Jr., Van Nuys, Calif.), Blake Harmon (Jr., Moorpark, Calif.) and Ryan Malone (Fr., Santa Cruz, Calif.) each contributed single scores.
Holden Bischoff (So., Fresno, Calif.) closed out the game for O’Brien by turning away four shots with one goal permitted in the fourth quarter.
Thibodeau and Dobrenz accounted for the Hokies’ offense. Jarid Bowen (Jr., Centreville, Va.) took the loss with 10 saves.
| 1st Q | 2nd Q | 3rd Q | 4th Q | – | FINAL | |
| Virginia Polytechnic Institute & State University | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | – | 2 |
| San Diego State University | 6 | 7 | 4 | 5 | – | 22 |
| San Diego State Goals: | Josh Heller (4); Kyle Seume (3); Peter DeSoto (3); Spencer Shortill (3); Matthew French (3); Tim Barnett (2); Josh Scott; Brandon Holzhauer; Blake Harmon; Ryan Malone | |||||
| Virginia Tech Goals: | Phil Dobrenz; Brian Thibodeau | |||||
| Saves: | San Diego State – Rockne O’Brien (5, 21 minutes), Holden Bischoff (4, 7 minutes); Virginia Tech – Jarid Bowen (10) | |||||
| Exclusions: | San Diego State – 1 ; Virginia Tech – 6 | |||||
| Advantage Opportunities: | San Diego State- 5-for-6 ; Virginia Tech – 0-for-1 | |||||
| Sprints: | San Diego State – 2-for-4 (3rd, 4th) ; Virginia Tech – 2-for-4 (1st, 2nd) | |||||
| Officials: | Nick Cargola, Ulrich Grude | |||||
Photo 1: Virginia Tech’s Brian Daly (#4) tries to shoot as San Diego State University’s Josh Scott (#6) defends; Photo 2: San Diego State University’s Zack Randall (#11) tries to shutdown Virginia Tech’s Danial Okhovvatgilani (#10); Photo 3: Virginia Tech’s Jarid Bowen (#1) attempts to make a save
