KEARNS, Utah — Willem Palmer (Jr., Mill Valley, Calif.) scored eight times and Roberto Carbone (Fr., Genova, Italy) added seven more to share Player of the Game honors as Atlantic Division Champion the University of Virginia topped Rocky Mountain Division runner-up/host the University of Utah to earn a spot in the Ninth Place game at the 2023 Men’s National Collegiate Club Championship hosted by the Utes at the Kearns Oquirrh Park Fitness Center.
Virginia – which previously tied for 15th Place in 2003 at Texas A&M University in College Station, Texas, and picked up a 13th Place tie last year at the Chehalem Aquatic Fitness Center in Newberg, Ore. – is guaranteed to claim the team’s highest finish in program history at the Men’s National Collegiate Club Championship. The Cavaliers – who can finish no lower than 10th in the final 16-team championship field – will seek to capture the Ninth Place game at 2:15 p.m. Mountain on Sunday, November 12, against the victor of a consolation game matching Mid-Atlantic Division Champion/No. 17 Pennsylvania State University and Northwest Division Champion/No. 10 the University of Oregon.
The loss drops Utah into the 30th and final game of the 30-game championship weekend as the Utes will take on the fallen from the clash of the Nittany Lions and Ducks at 3:30 p.m. on Sunday, November 12, for 11th Place. The 2018 Men’s National Collegiate Club Championship runner-up, the team has never previously finished outside the Top 10 at the event with prior Ninth (2007, at University of Arizona; 2014 at Kearns), Seventh (2009 at University of Florida), Fourth (2012 at the Osborn Aquatics Center/Oregon State University; 2019 at University of Pittsburgh) and Second (2018 at University of Arizona) place marks.
Fans should be aware of a potential schedule change due to flight arrangements for Penn State. If Penn State loses to Oregon, the Ninth and 11th Place games on November 12 will change positions with the 11th Place game moving to 2:15 p.m. and the Ninth Place game moving to the final position at 3:30 p.m.
Virginia wasted little time in putting the game out of reach as the Cavaliers never trailed in outscoring Utah 6-2 and 5-3 in the first and second quarters, respectively, to build an 11-5 lead by halftime. The Utes closed to within 11-8 with 2:19 remaining in the third quarter, but Virginia outscored Utah 6-4 over the remainder of the game to take a five-goal win.
For Utah, Ethan Thunell (So., Holladay, Utah), Tanner Jones (Sr., Danville, Calif.) and Wyatt Spalding (Fr., New Albany, Ohio) each netted hat-tricks with three goals. Alex Brett (Sr., Los Altos, Calif.) and William Bennett (So., Orange, Calif.) chipped in a pair and one goal, respectively.
Besides Palmer (eight) and Carbone (seven), Virginia received solo markers from Max Spurr (So., Portland, Ore.) and Nick Hoffs (So., Laguna Beach, Calif.).
| 1st Q | 2nd Q | 3rd Q | 4th Q | – | FINAL | |
| University of Virginia |
6 | 5 | 2 | 4 | – | 17 |
| University of Utah | 2 | 3 | 3 | 4 | – | 12 |
| Utah Goals: | Ethan Thunell (3); Wyatt Spalding (3); Tanner Jones (3); Alex Brett (2); William Bennett | |||||
| Virginia Goals: | Willem Palmer (8); Roberto Carbone (7); Max Spurr; Nick Hoffs | |||||
| Exclusions: | Utah – 12 ; Virginia – 7 | |||||
| Advantage Opportunities: | Utah – 2-for-7 ; Virginia – 6-for-12 | |||||
| Sprints: | Utah – 2-for-4 (1st, 2nd) ; Virginia – 2-for-4 (3rd, 4th) | |||||
| Cards/Misconducts: | None | |||||
| Officials: | Don Lewis, Jeremy Mauss | |||||
The University of Virginia’s Ethan Scrifres (#17) and Prany Vittal (#1) defend against the University of Utah’s Ethan Thunell (#10)
University of Utah’s Wyatt Spalding (#9) defends the University of Virginia’s Max Spurr (#14)
University of Utah’s Alex Brett (#2) and the University of Virginia’s Roberto Carbone (#24)
University of Virginia’s Willem Palmer (#4)
