PITTSBURGH, Pa. — Goalie Brennan O’Brien (So., New Lenox, Ill.) made 14 saves – including eight stops in the second half – as Great Lakes Division Champion the University of Notre Dame clinched a Top 12 finish at the 2019 Men’s National Collegiate Club Championship hosted by the University of Pittsburgh with a 13-10 defeat of Southeast Division Champion the University of Alabama.
- Via the victory, Notre Dame earns a clash with Texas Division Champion/No. 11-ranked the University of Texas at 2:50 p.m. on Saturday, November 16. The winner of the Irish-Longhorns game will compete at 2:15 p.m on Sunday, November 17, for Ninth Place, while the loser will battle at 3:30 p.m. in the 11th Place game.
- Alabama will wrap-up its participation at the Men’s National Collegiate Club Championship at 9:50 p.m. on Saturday, November 16, as the Crimson Tide will take on the Atlantic Division Champion/No. 19 MIdshipmen of the United States Naval Academy. The winner of the game will tie for 13th place, while the loser will tie for 15th place in the final 16-team tournament standings.
- The game was nip-tuck in the early going as neither squad was able to pull away in the first quarter before two Crimson Tide strikes pushed Alabama out to a 4-2 margin by the conclusion of the first quarter.
- Notre Dame rallied back in the second quarter as James Plascke (Fr., Atherton, Calif.) ticked off back-to-back markers at 6:37 and 5:15 to balance the scoreboard at four-all. Thomas Issa (Jr., Kingston, Jamaica), Plaschke and Matthew Dotson (So., Pleasanton, Calif.) followed at 4:41, 4:13 and 2:21, respectively, to provide the Fighting Irish with a 7-4 lead.
- Alabama chipped a score off its deficit prior to the close of the first half as Joe Tomashek (Sr., Naperville, Ill.) cashed in a man-up opportunity with 16 seconds left to move the Crimson Tide within 7-5 entering the break.
- Notre Dame’s lead evaporated in the first half of the third quarter as Noble McMaster (Fr., Madison, Ala.) and Eric Caselton (Sr., St, Louis, Mo.) pumped in natural markers at 6:34 and 3:31, respectively, to deadlock the teams at seven-all.
- The Irish regained the lead prior to the end of the frame as Dotson deposited a go-ahead score with 2:10 remaining, but Colin Szczesny (Fr., Naperville, Ill.) equalized the score for Alabama 12 seconds into the fourth quarter to make it eight-all.
- Notre Dame pushed ahead 9-8 courtesy a rising shot by Ryan Guinn (Jr, Rocklin, Calif.) at 5:41, but Chris Popiolek (Jr., Naperville, Ill.) knotted the damage at nine-all at the 4:51 mark to set-up a mad dash to the final horn.
- Kreinenkamp played hero down the stretch for the Irish as he drilled in man-up (4:23) and penalty shot (4:13) goals to make it 11-9 before Dotson put away consecutive even-strength scores with 2:01 and 54 seconds left to make it 13-9.
- Alabama trimmed its final margin of defeat back to three prior to the end of the fourth quarter as Caselton dented the twine with 43 ticks left for the 13-10 score.
- For Notre Dame, Plaschke and Dotson both scored four times with Kreinenkamp notching three goals to join them in recording hat-tricks. Issa and Gwinn both contributed single scores.
- Szczesny (three), Tomashek (two), Popiolek (two) and Caselton (two) all recorded multi-goal games for Alabama with Noble McMaster (Fr., Madison, Ala.) accounting for a single score.
- Alex Mick (Jr., St. Louis, Mo.) took the loss for the Crimson Tide with 11 saves.
| 1st Q | 2nd Q | 3rd Q | 4th Q | – | FINAL | |
| University of Alabama | 4 | 1 | 2 | 3 | – | 10 |
| University of Notre Dame | 2 | 5 | 1 | 5 | – | 13 |
| Notre Dame Goals: | James Plaschke (4); Matthew Dotson (4); Chris Kreinenkamp (3); Thomas Issa; Ryan Gwinn | |||||
| Alabama Goals: | Colin Szczesny (3); Joe Tomashek (2); Chris Popiolek (2); Eric Caselton (2); Noble McMaster | |||||
| Saves: | Notre Dame – Brennan O’Brien (14) ; Alabama – Alex Mick (11) | |||||
| Exclusions: | Notre Dame – 6 ; Alabama – 4 | |||||
| Advantage Opportunities: | Notre Dame – 2-for-4 ; Alabama – 3-for-6 | |||||
| Sprints: | Notre Dame – 2-for-4 (3rd, 4th) ; Alabama – 2-for-4 (1st, 2nd) | |||||
| Cards/Misconducts: | Alabama – YC (Duncan McMaster, 5:15 left in 2nd Q) | |||||
| Officials: | Martin Murray; Igor Mernenko | |||||
University of Alabama’s Noble McMaster (#20) tries to block a shot by the University of Notre Dame’s Chris Kreienkamp (#5)
University of Notre Dame’s Matthew Dotson (#12) attempts a field block against the University of Alabama’s Nick Ward (#10)
University of Alabama’s Alex Mick (#1)
University of Alabama’s Drake McClure (#8) lines up a shot as the University of Notre Dame’s John Burke (#11) defends
