 |  |
No. 5 Miami Rolls Past Illinois State 5-3 in Men's National Collegiate Club Championship Opening Round
2010 Men's National Collegiate Club Schedule & Scores
CEDAR CITY, Utah -- Juan Lopez (So., Miami, Fla.) put four shots into the back of the cage to earn Player of the Game honors, while Andrew Fitzpatrick (Jr., Melbourne, Australia) added a solo marker, to account for all the offense No. 5 nationally ranked the University of Miami would need to knock off Illinois State University 5-3 in the opening round of the 2010 Men's National Collegiate Club Championship at Southern Utah University.
The Florid Division champion Hurricanes will next be in action at 11:20 a.m. on Saturday, November 13 against the winner of a first round game between No. 11 the University of Colorado and No. 15 the University of Pennsylvania, while Great Plains Division champion Illinois State will take on the loser of the Colorado-Penn game at 8:40 p.m. this evening.
In a battle of first-time National Collegiate Club qualifying programs, the game started slowly with neither team able to jump out to an early lead in the first period.
Miami opened up a lead which they would not relinquish until the fourth period as Lopez and Friedman found the back of the cage with shots at 5:59 and 5:18, respectively, to take a 2-0 margin. Illinois State halved the margin with 19 seconds to go in the first half as David Kuchta (Jr., Flossmoor, Ill.) whipped in a shot, but Lopez responded at the five second mark to make it 3-1 after 14 minutes of aquatic action.
The Red Birds continued to chip away at the Hurricane's lead in the third period as Mike Byron (So., Barrington, Ill.) rifled home a five-meter penalty shot at 5:14 to move Illinois State within 3-2.
Miami's lead evaporated in the fourth period with 3:35 showing on the clock as Pat Kraulis (Jr., Schaumburg, Ill.) flicked a man-up shot into the cage to knot the game at 3-to-3 and set-up a show by Lopez.
Just 19 seconds after Kraulis equaled the scoring, Lopez netted the game-winner and completed a hat-trick as he weaved through the Red Birds' defenders, pulled up and buried the go-ahead marker with 3:16 showing on the game-clock to put the Hurricanes in front to stay.
Lopez tacked on his fourth goal of the day with four seconds left to insure the Hurricanes' advancement in the tournament and the rest of the day off until tomorrow's quarterfinal match-up.
A key to the game was Miami's inability to convert on man-up chances as the Hurricanes went 0-for-10, while Illinois State cashed in on two-of-nine chances.
Between the iron, Alan Groll (So., Miami, Fla.) stopped seven shots to pick-up the victory for Miami, while ISU's Matt Temple (So., Highland Park, Ill.) took the loss after making five stops.
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | -- | Final | |
| Illinois State University | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | -- | 3 |
| No. 5University of Miami | 0 | 3 | 0 | 2 | -- | 5 |
Miami Goals: Juan Lopez (4), Andrew Fitzpatrick
ISU Goals: Mike Byron, Pat Kraulis, David Kuchta
Saves: Miami - Alan Groll (7) ; ISU - Matt Temple (5)
Exclusions: Miami - 9 ; ISU - 10
Advantage Opportunities: Miami - 0-for-10 ; ISU - 2-for-9
Sprints: Miami - 4-for-4 ; ISU - 0-for-4
Officials: Rick Marsh, Gene Gill
