ATHENS, Ohio --  No. 1 California Polytechnic State University received eight goals from Brandon Ross (So., San Diego, Calif.), but No. 1 Michigan State University netted five goals from Jon Haga (Sr., Palatine, Ill.), a hat-trick by Evan Perry (Sr., Rockford, Mich.) and pairs of scores from three other players as the Spartans made history by capturing the 2008 National Collegiate Club Championship at Ohio University.

The title game marked the first time in the history of intercollegiate athletics, club or varsity, that two No. 1 teams clashed with the national title on the line.  Both ranked No. 1 in the last two Collegiate Club polls, MSU and Cal Poly's appearance in the title game and the game's result were historic.

For the Spartans, the championship marks Michigan State's fourth title after capturing the 2000 and 2006 crowns, and set a new record as MSU has reached the title game for the past four years.

Defending national champion and Pacific Coast Division champion Cal Poly saw its dreams of joining the Mustangs' 2001 and 2002 teams as the only squads in the history of the Collegiate Club National Championship tournament to win back-to-back titles terminated against Michigan State.  The last time the Mustangs achieved the feat, the team knocked off Villanova University (2001) and the University of Southern California (2002).  

A five-time titleist with championships in 1999, 2001, 2002, 2004 and 2007, the Mustangs were looking to become the second No. 1 seed to win the tournament as only the 2002 Cal Poly team achieved the feat in the previous 15 National Collegiate Club Tournaments.

For many reasons, the game was reverse deja vu to last year's title tilt as the Mustangs needed a four goal performance by 2007 National Player of the Year and Tournament Most Valuable Player Daniel Harris (Sr., Gilroy, Calif.), including the game-winner in overtime, as Cal Poly overcame a 4-2 deficit in the second period to knock off then No. 1 ranked and defending national champion Michigan State University 7-6 in overtime to capture the 2007 National Collegiate Club Championship at the University of Arizona.

This year, there was no overtime, no succesful dramatic comeback in the closing minutes of the game, but a No. 1 team fell and a clutch performance by an athlete again turned the tide for the crown.

Playing for the second time this year as Michigan State knocked off Cal Poly 12-11 in September, the teams combined for 39 shots on goal with 28 goals and 11 saves as the final score marked the highest scoring national title game in the history of the championship.

Haga opened the high-scoring title tilt exactly one minute into the first period as he buried a penalty shot inside the right post for a 1-0 lead.  Cal Poly answered 29 seconds later with a blast by Ross to tie the game at one-apiece, but the Spartans pulled away to a 4-1 lead as Nick Talaski (So., Rockford, Mich.), Andrew Olesnavich (Jr., Bloomfield Hills, Mich.) and Haga beat Cal Poly goalie Casey Ryan (Jr., Belmont, Calif.) at 5:18, 4:13 and 2:00, respectively.

Cal Poly trimmed the margin to 4-2 before the end of the period as Ross netted his second marker at 1:16 to set up a second period which saw the teams combine for 11 goals, the most goals ever scored in a period during a National Collegiate Club title game.

Perry opened the scoring spurt 22 seconds into the period with a goal at 6:38 before Ross completed a hat-trick with 5:36 left in the first half.  The margin went back up to three 14 seconds later as the Spartans drove down the ball and dished a pass to Perry who notched his second goal in less than three minutes. 

The Mustangs charged back to pull within a goal at 6-5 thanks to another score by Ross at 4:58 and a tally by Aaron Shilling (Jr., Freemont, Calif.) at 3:45, but MSU responded again with an exclusion score by Haga at 3:21 and a natural goal by Jared Swider (Sr., Rockford, Mich.) at 1:58 to go back in front by three at 8-5.

Refusing to roll-over, Cal Poly turned to Kevin Heinichen (Gr., Santa Rosa, Calif.) who blasted a shot into the cage at 1:37 to ignite a 3-0 scoring run by the Mustangs as Ross tacked on goals at 1:14 and 25 seconds to pull the teams even at eight-all in the closing seconds of the first half.

However, MSU went to their corner at the break with a narrow lead as Jake Marsh (Fr., Okemos, Mich.) fired a Hail Mary shot at the buzzer which found a way through the Cal Poly defense to put Michigan State in front 9-8 at the break.

The margin expanded to 10-8 1:04 into the third period as Perry lobbed a shot into the upper right corner of the cage.  Cal Poly responded with a score by Jake Muir (Fr., San Jose, Calif.) at the 5:22 mark, but Haga countered with his fourth tally at 3:14 to put the Spartans back in front by two at 11-9.

Ross then took over the game registering his seventh goal at 1:13 and dishing a pass to Shilling with 40 seconds to go for another marker to even the score at 11-11.  The tie lasted for 24 seconds as Talaski shattered the peace with a rising shot that rocked the cage at the 16 seconds mark for a 12-11 MSU lead entering the final seven minutes of play.

Harris retied the game 27 seconds into the fourth period with his only goal of the game, but Haga sealed the win scoring at 4:28, assisting on a score by Marsh at 4:28 for the game-winner and setting up another marker by Olesnavich at 2:27 to build a 15-12 lead. 

Cal Poly attempted to rally back in the final two minutes of play as Ross completed his championship game tournament record eight-goal day, but Haga locked down Harris on defense in a battle of the current and past tournament MVPs to preserve the win and make MSU's national title dreams a reality. 

In cage, Ryan finished with six saves for Cal Poly and Ben Shantz (So., Rockford, Mich.) blocked away five shots for the national champion Spartans.

Cal Poly Goals: Brandon Ross (8); Aaron Shilling (2); Daniel Harris; Kevin Heinichen; Jake Muir

MSU Goals:  Jon Haga (5); Evan Perry (3); Nick Talaski (2); Jake Marsh (2); Andrew Olesnavich (2); Jared Swider

Saves: Cal Poly - Casey Ryan (6) ; MSU -  Ben Shantz (5)

Ejections: Cal Poly - 4 ; MSU - 2

Sprints: Cal Poly - 1 (4th) ; MSU - 3 (1st, 2nd & 3rd)