KEARNS, Utah — Player of the Game Mert Ali Yener (Fr., Istanbul, Turkey) scored six times – including a first quarter hat-trick – as Big Ten Division Champion/No. 5-ranked Michigan State University survived against Rocky Mountain Division the University of Colorado, 9-8, to advance into the semifinals at the 2023 Men’s National Collegiate Club Championship hosted by the University of Utah at the Kearns Oquirrh Park Fitness Center.
Michigan State – which previously placed First (2000, 2006, 2008, 2021), Second (2005, 2007), Third (2010), Fourth (2009) and Fifth (2019) at the Men’s National Collegiate Club Championship – are guaranteed no lower than a Fourth Place mark in 2023 thanks to the besting of the Buffaloes.
The Spartans will return to the water for a semifinal showdown at 6:20 p.m. Mountain tonight against Florida Division Champion/No. 6 the University of Florida. The Gators defeated Pacific Coast Division Champion/No. 2 the University of California-Los Angeles by a 10-6 score in the game immediately prior to the Michigan State-Colorado clash.
Colorado – which previously finished Second (1997), Fifth (2016), Sixth (2023), Seventh (2001, 2014, 2021), Eighth (2010), Ninth (2015), 11th (2017) and 12th (2008) at the club championship – slips into the consolation side of the championship bracket and will seek to buck UCLA at 7:30 p.m. this evening to punch the Buffaloes’ ticket to the Fifth Place game on Sunday, November 12.
Michigan State opened the scoring in the contest as Yener juked his defender and wailed in a shot 42 seconds into the game to put the Spartans in front 1-0. The lead was short-lived, however, as Sebastian Vargas (Sr., Los Altos, Calif.) and Ryan Bannon (Gr., Bloomfield, Colo.) converted on consecutive man-up chances at 4:44 and 3:15, respectively, to place Colorado in front 2-1. Yeneer turned the tables on the Buffaloes by notching a penalty shot (1:23) and a natural goal (44 seconds) to allow MSU to regain a one-goal lead at 3-2, but Matteo Petty (Fr., Orinda, Calif.) flipped in an equalizer with three ticks on the clock to square the squads at three-all after seven minutes.
The back-and-forth nature of the meeting continued in the first three minutes of the second quarter as Yeneer struck again at 5:22, but Bannon bolted down to the pool a minute later for the equalizer at 4:21 as neither team as able to gain breathing room.
Nate Chalmers (Jr., Hudsonville, Mich.) and Leo Varitek (Jr., Dexter, Mich.) finally provided a team more than a one-goal lead as the Spartan duo swished shots at 3:40 and 1:56, respectively, to give Michigan State a titanic 6-4 margin heading into halftime.
Colorado, however, sank MSU’s titanic lead in under three minutes to begin the third quarter as Breno Araujo (Sr., Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) and Adam Watson (Sr., Newport Beach, Calif.) tossed in man-up opportunities at 4:56 and 4:10, respectively, to knot the game at six-all.
Yener gave Michigan State back the lead in the final minute of the third quarter by netting a natural goal (35 seconds) and racking up a man-up tally (four seconds) to make the score 8-6 in favor of the Spartans heading into the final seven minutes of regulation.
Bannon turned up the heat on MSU 61 seconds into the fourth quarter by converting a six-on-five chance at 5:59 to put Colorado on the doorstep of another rally by closing within 8-7. Needing some insurance to stymie the Buffaloes from stampeding back into the game – or taking the lead in the waning moments of the game – Maxim Todorovic (So., Chicago, Ill.) picked a critical time to put away his lone goal of the game as the second-year whipped in a shot 20 seconds later for what proved to be the game-winning score.
Jason Bollella (Sr., Newport Beach, Calif.) attempted to start one final push for Colorado by connecting on a man-up goal at 2:02, but the Spartans’ defense stiffened and the clock kept ticking as time ran out on the Buffaloes’ comeback bid.
For Michigan State, Yener (six) was the lone athlete to tally more than one goal as Todorovic, Varitek and Chalmers each found the cage once.
Similar to the Spartans, Bannon (three) was the lone Colorado athlete to score more than once in the contest as Bollella, Petty, Araujo, Vargas and Watson chipped in solo markers.
| 1st Q | 2nd Q | 3rd Q | 4th Q | – | FINAL | |
| University of Colorado |
3 | 1 | 2 | 2 | – | 8 |
| No. 5 Michigan State University | 3 | 3 | 2 | 1 | – | 9 |
| MSU Goals: | Merit Ali Yener (6); Maxim Todorovic; Leo Varitek; Nate Chalmers | |||||
| Colorado Goals: | Ryan Bannon (3); Jason Bollella; Matteo Petty; Breno Araujo; Sebastian Vargas; Adam Watson | |||||
| Exclusions: | MSU – 14 ; Colorado – 9 |
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| Advantage Opportunities: | MSU – 2-for-9 ; Colorado – 5-for-14 |
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| Sprints: | MSU – 2-for-4 (1st, 3rd) ; Colorado – 2-for-4 (2nd, 4th) |
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| Cards/Misconducts: | None | |||||
| Officials: | Chad Quinn, Victor Rarau | |||||
Michigan State University’s Ben Deininger (#17) goes for the ball as the University of Colorado’s Benjamin Budic (#13) looks on
Michigan State University’s Leo Varitek (#10) defends the University of Colorado’s Jason Bollella (#10)
Michigan State University’s Cooper Randall (#1A) attempts to stop a shot by the University of Colorado’s Adam Watson (#2)
