HUNTSVILLE, Alabama — Reid Schioldager (Jr., Orinda, Calif.) scored four times to net Player of the Game recognition as Rocky Mountain Division Champion/No. 6-ranked the University of Colorado exploited a 6-1 scoring advantage in the fourth quarter to outlast Southeast Division Champion the Georgia Institute of Technology, 12-7, in the opening round of the 2021 Men’s National Collegiate Club Championship at the Huntsville Aquatic Center.
Courtesy the win, Colorado advances to a 10:10 a.m. quarterfinal game on Saturday, November 13, versus the victor of a first round game pitting New York Division Champion Cornell University versus Big Ten Division Champion/No. 2 Michigan State University. Georgia Tech falls into the consolation side of the bracket and will meet the loser of the Cornell-Michigan State game at 6:20 p.m. on Friday, November 12.
- Georgia Tech opened the game with a scoring flourish as the Yellow Jackets stung Colorado with goals by Luke Gilette (Jr., Trinidad and Tobago) and Luke Brawer (Jr., St. Louis, Mo.) at the 6:20 and 4:16 marks of the first quarter, respectively, to stake the Southeast Division Champions to a quick 2-0 lead.
- Colorado erased the deficit prior to the close of the first quarter as James Watson (Jr., Newport Beach, Calif.) and Schioldager (1:51) buried man-up chances to square the squads at two-all.
- The Buffaloes pushed ahead at 3-2 with 5:17 left in the second quarter as Benjamin Budic (So., San Diego, Calif.) put away a natural goal, but Elijah Carlton (So., Rosemead, Calif.) flushed man-up (2:29) and even-strength (three seconds) chances to return Georgia Tech to the lead at 4-3 entering halftime.
- The game continued to sway back-and-forth as Schioldager balanced the scoreboard 36 seconds into the third quarter, Brawer returned the lead to Georgia Tech with a man-up strike (5:18) and Breno Goldenberg Araujo (Jr., Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) hammered in a power-play chance (4:57) to knot the score at five-all.
- Georgia Tech once again pulled ahead with 17 seconds remaining in the third quarter via an even-strength marker by Athanasios Taprantzis (So., Greece), but Colorado responded with nine ticks on the clock courtesy a heave by Jackson Williams (So., Huntington Beach, Calif.) to knot the squads at six-all through 21 minutes of competition.
- Colorado continued its momentum into the fourth quarter as Patrick Riley Tippens (Sr., Highland Park, Ill.), Budic and Luka Visnjic (Sr., Boulder, Colo.) buried even-strength chances at 6:11, 5:46 and 3:59, respectively, to build a 9-6 lead.
- Gilette terminated the the Buffaloes’ scoring run with a tally at 3:36, but a natural goal by Goldenberg Araujo at 2:10 was sandwiched by even-strength (2:55) and five-meter penalty shot (40 seconds) strikes by Schioldager to wrap-up the damage in a 12-7 victory.
- For Colorado, Schioldager (four), Goldenberg Araujo (two) and Budic (two) each notched multi-score games, while Williams, Watson, Tippens and Visnjic each tickled the twine once. Goalie Devin Reiss (Jr., Santa Clara, Calif.) picked up the win between the pipes.
- Across the tank, Carlton, Gilette and Brawer each posted pairs of goals to accompany Taprantzis’ single marker. Pedro Luiz Balabuch Dal Bo (So., Miami, Fla.) took the loss in cage.
| 1st Q | 2nd Q | 3rd Q | 4th Q | – | FINAL | |
| Georgia Institute of Technology |
2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | – | 7 |
| University of Colorado | 2 | 1 | 3 | 6 | – | 12 |
| Colorado Goals: | Reid Schioldager (4); Breno Goldenberg Araujo (2); Benjamin Budic (2); Jackson Williams; James Watson; Patrick Riley Tippens; Luka Visnjic | |||||
| Georgia Tech Goals: | Elijah Carlton (2); Luke Gilette (2); Luke Brawer (2); Athanasos Taprantzis | |||||
| Saves: | Colorado – Devin Reiss (0) ; Georgia Tech – Pedro Luiz Balabuch Dal Bo (1) | |||||
| Exclusions: | Colorado – 11 ; Georgia Tech -12 | |||||
| Advantage Opportunities: | Colorado – 4-for-12 ; Georgia Tech – 2-for-11 | |||||
| Sprints: | Colorado – 2-for-4 (1st, 2nd) ; Georgia Tech – 2-for-4 (3rd, 4th) | |||||
| Cards/Misconducts: | FM – Georgia Tech (Samy Amer, 40 seconds left in 4th Q); RC – Georgia Tech (Samy Amer, 40 seconds left in 4th Q) | |||||
| Officials: | Bruce Morehouse, Victor Rarau | |||||
University of Colorado’s Reid Schioldager (#9) rises to shoot against the Georgia Institute of Technology
The Georgia Institute of Technology’s Elijah Carlton (#2) closes on defense against the University of Colorado’s Sebastian Vargas (#15)
The Georgia Institute of Technology’s Blake Castleman (#17) eyes an opening as the University of Colorado’s Reid Schioldager (#9) lurks for a steal
