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No. 1 Cal Poly Opens Defense of 2007 Club Title with 13-7 Victory Over Ohio University
ATHENS, Ohio -- 10 California Polytechnic Institute players scored goals, including pairs by Daniel Harris (Sr., Gilroy, Calif.), Brandon Ross (So., San Diego, Calif.) and Aaron Shilling (Jr., Freemont, Calif.), as the No. 1-nationally ranked Mustangs opened defense of their 2007 National Collegiate Club title with a 13-7 win over Ohio University in the opening game of the 2008 National Collegiate Club tournament on the campus of Ohio University.
The Mustangs never trailed in the game opening a 1-0 lead 31 seconds into the contest on a score by Kurtis Wurster (Sr., San Luis Obispo, Calif.), but Ohio University tied the score 15 seconds later on a shot by Stephen Leow (Sr., Sylvania, Ohio) as the unranked, No. 16 seed and host Bobcats appeared prepared to become the first 16-seed to upset a No. 1 seed and nationally ranked team in the first round of the tournament.
However, Cal Poly's offense began to come together as Shilling registered back-to-back scores at the 5:58 and 5:30 marks to give the Mustangs' lead to 3-1. Josh Mix (Sr., Redwood City, Calif.) and Harris tacked on markers at 4:55 and 4:17 to push the margin to 5-1.
However, the Bobcats clawed back with scores from the hands of Hart Williams (Sr., Upper Arlington, Ohio) and Pete Zien (Sr., Chicago, Ill.) at 3:10 and 2:23, respectively, to slice the lead back to a pair of scores at 5-3.
Cal Poly insured their lead before the end of the first period with three more scores as Ross, Bryson Bailey (Jr., Morgan Hill, Calif.) and Justin Lekos (Jr., San Diego, Calif.) found the back of the cage at 2:03, 1:28 and 24 seconds, respectively, to give the Mustangs an 8-3 lead after a period of play.
Needing a strong defensive second period to either stay in the game or keep Ohio from rallying back, both teams responded as Cal Poly managed the only goal of the period at 4:37 when Harris ripped a shot into the twine for a 9-3 lead at halftime.
The third period carried over the second period's theme as both teams locked down defensively until Ohio's Leow broke the ice at 2:55 with an exclusion goal and Zac Curhan (So., Santa Barbara, Calif.) responded for Cal Poly with a natural goal at 1:07 to set the score at 10-4.
Offense categorized the fourth period as the teams exchanged six goals, including three exclusion goals by Ohio, as Cal Poly built leads of 12-4 and 13-5 before the Bobcats registered a pair of goals at the end of the period for the 13-7 final.
Between the pipes, Casey Ryan (Jr., Belmont, Calif.) made one save in the first half and Kyle Loomis (Fr., La Jolla, Calif.) blocked down four shots in the second half for the Mustangs, while Brandon Crawford (Jr., Sylvania, Ohio) stopped six shots for Ohio.
Courtesy the win, Cal Poly advances to a 9:00 a.m. showdown on November 15 versus the winner of a first round game between No. 13 ranked Dartmouth College and No. 10 the University of Colorado. Ohio will next be in action at 9:50 p.m. on November 14 against the loser of the Dartmouth-Colorado game.
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Final |
| California Polytechnic State University | 8 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 13 |
| Ohio University | 3 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 7 |
Ohio Goals: Pete Zien (2); Stephen Leow (2); Aaron Wheatley (2); Hart Williams
Cal Poly Goals: Brandon Ross (2); Daniel Harris (2); Aaron Shilling (2); Josh Mix; Bryson Bailey; Zac Curhan; Justin Lekos; Jake Muir; Austin Price; Kurtis Wurster
Saves: Ohio - Brandon Crawford (6) ; Cal Poly - Casey Ryan (1 - 14 minutes), Kyle Loomis (4 - 14 minutes)
Ejections: Ohio - 5; Cal Poly - 5
Advantage Opportunities: Ohio - 4 for 5; Cal Poly - 0 for 5
