TUCSON, Arizona — Goalie Jeffrey Stark (Sr., Davis, Calif.) made seven saves to claim Player of the Game recognition as No. 14-ranked/New York Division Champion the United States Military Academy topped Southeast Division Champion the University of Alabama, 10-7, to tie for 13th place in the final 2018 Men’s National Collegiate Club Championship hosted at the University of Arizona.
Due to pool availability and time constraints, the 13th and 15th positions in the final tournament standings are not played out with the 13th and 15th place games not taking place.
Trailing 1-0 with 1:55 left in the first quarter, Army went to work to go in front to stay as the Cadets rattled off a five-meter penalty shot score by Christopher Onorato (Jr., Houston, Texas) at 1:39 followed by a man-up conversion with 48 seconds left by Leonid Milman (Sr., Shoreline, Wash.) to push Army ahead 2-1.
Alabama tied the score at two-all with 6:11 on the second quarter clock, but Army notched back-to-back goals before the Crimson Tied delivered another response to make it 4-3 at halftime.
The lead grew to two goals in the opening moments of third quarter, shrank to five-all and six-all before Army pulled back head 7-6 prior to the end of the period.
Army sealed its win in the fourth quarter by outscoring Alabama 3-1 for the 10-7 final score.
Onorato led the way for the Cadets with four goals, while Milman, Aaron Chough (Jr., Cerritos, Calif.), Matthew Kim (Sr., San Franciso, Calif.), Jin Won Heo (Sr., San Jose, Calif.), Halle Kotchman (Sr., Cleveland, Ohio) and Mathieu Sanders (So., Sonoma, Calif.) each accounted for single strikes.
Alabama, which posts its second consecutive 15th place finish after earning the same spot last year at Florida State University, received three goals from Eric Caselton (Sr., St, Louis, Mo.), a pair by Josh Troup (So, Prattville, Alabama) and single markers by Mikey Hession (Sr., Mission Viejo, Calif.) and Drake McClure (Sr., Naperville, Ill.). Goalie Alex Mick (So., St. Louis, Mo.) took the loss with five saves.
| 1st Q | 2nd Q | 3rd Q | 4th Q | – | FINAL | |
| United States Military Academy | 2 | 2 | 3 | 3 | – | 10 |
| University of Alabama | 1 | 2 | 3 | 1 | – | 7 |
| Alabama Goals: | Eric Caselton (3); Josh Troup (2); Mikey Hession; Drake McClure | |||||
| Army Goals: | Christopher Onorato (4); Mathieu Sanders; Halle Kotchman; Jin Won Heo; Matthew Kim; Aaron Chough; Leonid Milman | |||||
| Saves: | Alabama – Alex Mick (5) ; Army – Jeffrey Stark (7) | |||||
| Exclusions: | Alabama – 6 ; Army – 8 | |||||
| Advantage Opportunities: | Alabama – 2-for-8 ; Army – 4-for-6 | |||||
| Sprints: | Alabama – 3-for-4 (2nd, 3rd, 4th) ; Army – 1-for-4 (1st) | |||||
| Cards/Misconducts: | None | |||||
| Officials: | Scott Krasinski, John Rightmyer | |||||
University of Alabama’s Duncan McMaster (#11)
United States Military Academy’s Christopher Onorato (#14) shoots over the University of Alabama’s Josh Troup (#15)
University of Alabama’s Eric Castelton (#2) shoots against the United States Military Academy’s Jeffrey Stark (#1)
