HUNTSVILLE, Alabama — Mark Presten (Gr., Lafayette, Calif.) scored three times to lead Sierra Pacific Division Champion/No. 3-ranked the University of California to a 9-6 defeat of Texas Division Champion/No. 9 the University of Texas in the concluding first round game of the 2021 Men’s National Collegiate Club Championship hosted by the University of Alabama and the Huntsville Sports Commission at the Huntsville Aquatics Center.
The win advances California into the tournament quarterfinals where the Golden Bears will face Missouri Valley Division Champion/No. 16 McKendree University at 9:00 a.m. on Saturday, November 13, with a spot in the semifinals on the line.
Texas falls into the consolation side of the bracket as the Longhorns will clash with the host Crimson Tide of Alabama at 9:50 p.m. on the evening of Friday, November 12. A loss in the game drops the fallen into a 13th/15th place game at 8:40 p.m. on Saturday, November 13, while a win keeps a team’s hopes alive to claim a Ninth Place finish in the 16-team championship field.
- California trailed only once in the game as Texas’ Harry Flander (Jr., Danville, Texas) fired in the opening strike 44 seconds into the game to stake the Longhorns to a 1-0 lead with 6:16 left in the first quarter.
- The lead lasted for nearly two minutes until Presten powered a shot into the twine with 4:33 on the clock to knot the score at one-all. Nearly two and a half minutes later, Kai Mohl (Fr., Palos Verdes, Calif.) put California ahead to stay by whipping in a shot with 2:14 remaining in the opening frame.
- Alex Lee (Sr., Pacific Palisades, Calif.) followed with a man-up strike at 1:16 to widen the spread to 3-1 prior to Liam Veazey (Sr., Dallas, Texas) delivering an answer for the Longhorns by cashing in on a six-on-five chance with 32 ticks on the game clock to move Texas back to within one at 3-2.
- California opened the second quarter with another run as Mohl (4:53) and Presten (4:03) lined in even-strength shots to provide the Golden Bears a 5-2 margin.
- Veazey shaved Texas’ deficit back to a pair (5-3) with 3:48 remaining until halftime, but Presten did the trick for California by racking up his third tally of the contest with 3:26 on the clock as California entered the break with a 6-3 lead.
- A marker by Nate Conger (Sr., Encinitas, Calif.) with 3:54 to go in the third quarter marked the only damage inflicted in the third quarter as California carried a 7-3 margin into the fourth quarter.
- Neither team was able to add to its point total until the 4:31 mark of the fourth quarter when Zach De Haaff (So., Menlo Park, Calif.) punched in a man-up chance to move the Longhorns back within three at 7-4.
- Lee delivered an answer for Cal at 3:33 to enlarge the margin back to four at 8-4, but Veazey converted on a power-play opportunity at 2:31 to once again shrink the Golden Bears’ lead to three at 8-5.
- The teams continued to trade goals over the remainder of regulation as Ari Diddens (Sr., Boulder, Colo.) put away a man-up chance for Texas at the 59 seconds mark prior to De Haaff stroking in a natural goal for Texas with 49 ticks left for the 9-6 final score.
- For California, Presten (three), Mohl (two) and Lee (two) notched multi-goal games, while Conger and Diddens put away solo markers.
- Veazey (three) and De Haaff (two) notched multi-goal games for Texas with Flander accounting for the Longhorns’ other tally.
| 1st Q | 2nd Q | 3rd Q | 4th Q | – | FINAL | |
| University of Texas |
2 | 1 | 0 | 3 | – | 6 |
| University of California | 3 | 3 | 1 | 2 | – | 9 |
| California Goals: | Mark Presten (3); Kai Mohl (2); Alex Lee (2); Nate Conger; Ari Diddens | |||||
| Texas Goals: | Liam Veazey (3); Zach De Haaff (2); Harry Flander | |||||
| Exclusions: | California – 14; Texas – 9 | |||||
| Advantage Opportunities: | California – 2-for-9 ; Texas – 3-for-14 | |||||
| Sprints: | California – 3-for-4 (1st, 2nd, 3rd); Texas – 1-for-4 (4th) | |||||
| Cards/Misconducts: | YC – Texas (Head coach Richard Lee Stiles, 2:27 left in 2nd Q) | |||||
| Officials: | Brandon Nicholson; Tim Watson | |||||
University of California’s Cooper Tunney (#25) looks for an opening as the University of Texas’ Mark Weisberg (#8) defends
University of Texas’ Mark Weisberg (#8) looks to shoot as the University of California’s Alex Lee (#4) defends
The University of Texas’ Henry Oliver (#5) and the University of California’s Nate Conger (#5)
The University of Texas’ Hugh Flander (#14) and the University of California’s Kai Mohl (#11)
