Villanova University Goes the Distance to Master Columbia University in Overtime, 19-17, to Tie for 13th Place at 2025 Men’s National Collegiate Club Championship

Villanova University-vs.-Columbia University Scoresheet (2025 Men’s National Collegiate Club Championship – Game #23/13th-15th Place)

CARLISLE, Pa. — Patrick Cucchiarelli (Jr., North Branford, Conn.) scored a game-high nine goals to garner Player of the Game recognition as Mid-Atlantic Division Championship runner-up Villanova University scored a pair of last minute goals in regulation to force overtime and claim a 19-17 victory versus New York Division Champion Columbia University in a 13th/15th place game at the 2025 Men’s National Collegiate Club Championship.

Competing at the Carlisle YMCA Aquatic Center, the Wildcats survived a Lions’ rally in the fourth quarter to take down Columbia in overtime and tie for 13th place in the final 16-team, 30-game National Championship tournament.

Due to time constraints, the 13th and 15th positions are not played out.  Rather, the victors of the 13th-15th games tie for 13th place, while the losers tie for 15th.  Mid-Atlantic Division Champion/No. 15 Pennsylvania State University and Missouri Valley Division Champion the University of Missouri will compete in the other 13th/15th place contest.

Villanova – which previously finished Second (2001), Fifth (2000), Seventh (2004), 10th (2003) and 12th (2011, 2018) at the National Collegiate Club Championship – fell behind in the dawning moments of the game as Columbia – which holds prior Fourth (2011), 11th (2009), 13th (2008, 2010, 2015) and 15th (2006) marks at the Men’s National Collegiate Club Championship since 2006 – raced out to 2-0 and 3-1 leads.

Andrew Miller (Gr., Richmond, Texas) started the scoring by depositing a man-up tally with 6:09 left in the first quarter prior to Maxim Koretsky (Sr., Sunnyvale, Calif.) delivering a natural marker at 5:39 to place Columbia in front at 2-0.  Cucchiarelli trimmed Villanova’s deficit to 2-1 with 5:22 on the clock, but Koretsky struck again at 4:59 to return a two-goal lead to the New York Division Champions at 3-1.

Cuchiarelli (4:32) and Stefano Triant (Jr., Ottsville, Pa.) (3:13) erased their team’s deficit to tie the game at three-all before the squads set out on a back-and-forth scoring spree leading to a seven-all deadlock after seven minutes of action.

Achilleas Tsirgis (Gr., New York, N.Y.) put Columbia back in front at 4-3 (3:03), Triant answered (1:46), Alex Zhong (Fr., Los Gatos, Calif.) made it 5-4 in favor of the Lions (1:34), Parker Doble (Fr., Newbury Park, Calif.) delivered for Villanova (1:16), Tsirgis struck again for a 6-5 margin (1:02) and Cucchiarelli got in on the fun with another equalizer (51 seconds) as the teams were tied at six-all with under a minute left in the first quarter.

For the first time, Villanova claimed the lead as Cucchiarelli posted his fourth goal of the opening frame by converting on a man-up opportunity with 29 seconds on the clock.  The Lions refused to lay down, however, as Tsirgis finished off a first quarter hat-trick with his third strike at the 15 seconds mark as the teams went to their corners following the first quarter tired and tied at seven-all.

Kai Spicer (Jr, East Lansing, Mich.) and David Choi (Sr., Pennington, N.J.) continued the point-counter point nature of the contest in the second quarter as Columbia pushed ahead 8-7 (5:21) and Villanova punched back at 5:59 in again deadlocking the teams at eight-all.

The Wildcats acquired some breathing room prior to halftime as Max Phillips (Sr., Greenwich, Conn.) and Doble flushed man-up (1:36) and even-strength (six seconds) shots, respectively, to place Villanova in front by a 10-8 count at the game’s midway point.

Similar to the pattern displayed in the first half, the lead was short-lived as Henry Pennington (Fr., Haverford, Pa.) and Koretsky dented the twine at 5:33 and 4:36, respectively, to commence the third quarter and tie the game at 10-all.

Cucchiarelli put Villanova back in front at 11-10 (4:38) prior to Miller bombing away for scores at 3:10 and 2:09 to flip the script and place Columbia ahead 12-11.  Doble tied the game at 12-all (1:10) before Cucchiarelli deposited his sixth marker with 47 seconds left in the frame to once again provide the Wildcats a narrow lead at 13-12.

Similar to every lead up to that point in the game, Villanova’s margin evaporated as Pennington (6:25) and Jonathan Kon (Jr., Hillsborough, Calif.) (4:13, man-up) turned the tables to place the Lions ahead at 14-13.

Phillips (3:28) tied the game at 14-all, Columbia regained the lead at 15-14 via another goal by Spicer (2:38), Doble delivered a tying strike (54 seconds), Miller put the Lions back in front at 16-15 (32 seconds) and Cucchiarelli (18 seconds) notched another tying goal as the teams exited regulation locked at 16-all.

Playing a pair of overtime periods, Villanova regained the lead at 17-16 with 2:40 on the clock thanks to Cucchiarelli’s eighth goal of the game before Miller hurled home a heave with 59 seconds remaining to make it 17-all.  

The goal marked the final blow of the contest for Columbia as Cucchiarelli posted what proved to be the game-winning score by lining in a five-meter penalty shot with 35 seconds left to put Villanova ahead at 18-17.

In the second overtime period, both teams struggled to find the cage until Doble delivered a backbreaking score with 1:07 left to cushion the Wildcats’ margin of victory to a pair at 18-16.

Miller (five), Koretsky (three), Tsirgis (three), Spicer (two), Pennington (two), Zhong and Kon combined for Columbia’s 17-goals, while Cucchiarelli (nine), Doble (four), Phillips (three), Triant (two) and Choi delivered for Villanova.

Columbia University’s Achilleas Tsirgis (#10) & VIllanova University’s Stefano Triant (#20)

Columbia University’s Andrew Miller (#10) rises to shoot as Villanova University’s Parker Doble (#13) & Nicholas O’Hara (#2) close in

Villanova University’s Parker Doble (#13) & Columbia University’s Achilleas Tsirgis (#10)