NEWBERG, Ore. — Zach Hausner (Jr., Pacific Palisades, Calif.) scored seven times to earn Player of the Game laurels as Division III No. 1-ranked/No. 11/Great Lakes Division Champion Washington University in St. Louis led from the opening to closing whistles to collect at 16-11 victory over Southeast Division Champion the University of Alabama in the opening round of the 2022 Men’s National Collegiate Club Championship hosted by Oregon State University at the Chehalem Aquatic and Fitness Center.
The victory places Washington in St. Louis into a tournament quarterfinal at 12:30 p.m. Pacific on Saturday, November 12, as the Bears will face the victor of a first round meeting between No. 12/Missouri Valley Division Champion McKendree University and No. 16/New York Division Champion the United States Military Academy. The Crimson Tide of Alabama will take on the fallen from the McKendree-Army game at 7:30 p.m. this evening in the consolation side of the bracket.
Washington in St. Louis – which placed 12th in a 12-team field at the 2000 championship and took home Third Place honors in a 16-team field last year – never trailed in surfing the Crimson Tide by opening up a 2-0 lead by the 1:11 mark of the first quarter as Hausner (3:28, man-up) and Chris Allen (Jr, Fullerton, Calif.) (1:11) put away ice-breakers to stake the Bears to an early advantage.
Leading 2-1 at the conclusion of the first quarter, Washington in St. Louis began to pull away by outscoring Alabama 5-3 and 4-3 in the second and third quarters to acquire leads of 7-4 and 11-7 at the conclusion of the two frames, respectively. Alabama attempted to rally back in the fourth quarter, but Washington in St. Louis gained another scoring advantage (5-4) over the final seven minutes to outlast the Crimson Tide, 16-11, and guarantee the Bears another Top Eight finish in a 16-team Men’s National Collegiate Club Championship field.
Alabama – which previously tied for 15th (2017, 2018, 2019) and 13th (2021) Place in four prior trips to the Men’s National Collegiate Club Championship – received hat-tricks from Colin Szczesny (Sr., Aurora, Ill.) and Michael DiLascia (Fr., Greenwich, Conn.) along with a pair by Brian Kent (Jr., Marietta, Georgia). Chase McClure (Sr., Naperville, Ill.), Jonathan Bone (Fr., Gold River, Calif.) and Ryan Karadayi (Fr., Tomball, Texas) each tacked on solo markers in support of a nine save effort by goalkeeper Ethan Stout (Fr., Irvine, Calif.).
Allen (four), Antonio Mendez (So., Baltimore, Md.) (two) and Jake Engelberg (So., Los Angeles, Calif.) (two) joined Hausner (seven) in posting multi-goal games. Sebastian Klein (Jr., Northbrook, Ill.) accounted for the Bears’ other goal.
Asher Schwartz (So., Los Angeles, Calif.) made nine saves in collecting the win in cage for Washington in St. Louis.
| 1st Q | 2nd Q | 3rd Q | 4th Q | – | FINAL | |
| University of Alabama |
1 | 3 | 3 | 4 | – | 11 |
| Division III No. 1/No. 11 Washington University in St. Louis | 2 | 5 | 4 | 5 | – | 16 |
| Washington (Mo.) Goals: | Zach Hausner (7); Chris Allen (4); Antonio Mendez (2); Jake Engelberg (2); Sebastian Klein | |||||
| Alabama Goals: | Michael DiLascia (3); Colin Szczesny (3); Brian Kent (2); Ryan Kardayi; Chase McClure; Jonathan Bone | |||||
| Saves: | Washington (Mo.) – Asher Schwartz (9) ; Alabama – Ethan Stout (9) | |||||
| Exclusions: | Washington (Mo.) – 3 ; Alabama – 10 | |||||
| Advantage Opportunities: | Washington (Mo.) – 5-for-10 ; Alabama – 0-for-3 | |||||
| Sprints: | Washington (Mo.) – 1-for-4 (3rd) ; Alabama -3-for-4 (1st, 2nd, 4th) | |||||
| Cards/Misconducts: | None | |||||
| Officials: | Mike McMahon; Gene Gill | |||||
Washington University in St. Louis’ Jake Engelberg (#9) defends against the University of Alabama
University of Alabama’s Thomas MacDonald (#3) attempts to find away through the Washington University in St. Louis defense
Washington University in St. Louis’ Chris Allen (#4) tries to line-up a shot as the University of Alabama’s Andrew Lenkowsky (#21) defends
