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Lunetta Stars as No. 3 Arizona State Sinks No. 8 Lindenwood 12-11 in National Collegiate Club Fifth Place Game
2010 Men's National Collegiate Club Schedule & Scores
CEDAR CITY, Utah -- Jordan Lunetta (Sp., Sunnyvale, Calif.) picked the right time to make his presence felt recording a hat-trick in the fourth period, including the game-winner with 48 seconds remaining, to tie for the game high with four goals and lead the Sun Devils of No. 3 Arizona State University to a 12-11 victory over No. 8 Lindenwood University in the fifth place game of the 2010 Men's National Collegiate Club Championship at Southern Utah University's Sorenson Center.
In a game which featured 25 ejections and three cards, it was fitting that the margin of victory came on a five-meter penalty shot as Lunetta drew a penalty on Marco Tschlenok (So., Berlin, Germany) with 48 seconds remaining in the fourth period and buried his chance for the 12-11 final.
Combined the teams converted on 23-of-29 shots-on-goal, with ASU's Clay Solomon (So., Long Beach, Calif.) and Lindenwood's Enrique Vera (Jr., Orlando, Fla.) combining for only three saves during the course of action.
It took 40 seconds in the first period for the Lions to scratch out a lead as lashed a shot into the cage at 6:20. Alan Nguyen (Jr., San Jose, Calif.) responded for ASU at 4:56 to tie the game before Toni Storic (Fr., Betina, Croatia) converted on the first man-up opportunity of the game for a 2-1 Lindenwood lead with 4:18 showing on the period clock.
The Sun Devils broke through to stick two straight markers home as Wesley Sjoholm (Sr., Albuquerque, N.M.) converted on a man-up bid at 4:05 and uncorked a rising shot which drew nothing but net at 3:10 to stake ASU to a 3-2 lead.
Lunetta started his day at 2:24 with a natural goal to push the margin to 4-2, but Lindenwood counterpunched with 37 seconds in the opening frame courtesy a Sharn Appel (Sr., Harare, Zimbabwe) tally to pull within 4-3.
ASU retained the lead in the second period with a man-up goal (4:48) and an even-strength strike (00:30) from Nick Ryan (Fr., Alamo, Calif.), while Cody Kemp (So., North Tustin, Calif.) tossed in a marker at 1:05 to set the scoreboard at 6-4 in favor of Arizona State at the half.
However, the slumbering Lions awakened with a vengence as Appel buried a penalty shot (5:54) before Storic ripped off back-to-back natural goals at 3:56 and 3:26 to push Lindenwood out to the lead (7-6) for the first time since ASU tied the game at 2-to-2 in the first period.
Travis Dunn (So., Escondido, Calif.) evened the scoreboard less than two minutes later with a man-up goal at 1:41, but Lindenwood regained the edge 14 seconds later with a blast by Marwan Imam (Jr., Cairo, Egypt) at 1:27 to make it an 8-7 game.
Arizona State again evened the score with a strike from Ryan Bethell (Gr., Clovis, Calif.) to make it an 8-to-8 game and set-up a dramatic fourth period by Lunetta.
The first two minutes proved crucial in the fourth period for the Sun Devils' victory hopes as Lunetta netted a goal at 6:39 and Bethell spun in a man-up score at 5:38 to take a 10-8 lead.
However, Lindenwood rallied back as Storic found the cage with a water-level rocket at 5:05 and Ali Campbell (Sr., Dunfermine, Scotland) tacked on a man-up goal at 3:37 to pull the Lions even at 10-to-10 and establish a pattern for the final half of the period.
Lunetta (3:06) and Austin Walsh (Sr., St. Louis, Mo.) exchanged scoring blows to keep the game tied at 11-all, before Lunetta finished off the scoring and the ASU defense stiffened enough to hang on for the final 48 seconds of action.
Lindenwood, which finished fifth last year at the 2009 National Collegiate Club Championship at the University of Florida, has now posted back-to-back Top Six finishes in the program's first two National Collegiate Club appearances. Prior to electing to attend the championship after winning the Missouri Valley Division the past two seasons, Lindenwood previously captured a record three straight Division III National Collegiate Club titles (2006-08).
In only their fifth season as a program in the Collegiate Water Polo Association (CWPA), ASU now holds a pair of Top 10 finishes at the National Collegiate Club Championship as the Sun Devils placed third in 2008 after finishing 13th in 2007.
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | -- | Final | |
| No. 3 Arizona State University |
4 | 2 | 2 | 4 | -- | 12 |
| No. 8 Lindenwood University |
3 | 1 | 4 | 3 | -- | 11 |
Lindenwood Goals:
Toni Storic (4), Sharn Appel (2), Ali Campbell, Marwan Imam, Cody
Kemp, Austin Walsh, Daniel Nagy
ASU Goals: Jordan Lunetta (4), Wes Sjoholm (2), Nick Ryan (2), Ryan Bethell (2), Alan Nguyen, Travis Dunn
Saves: Lindenwood - Enrique Vera (2) ; ASU - Clay Solomon (4)
Exclusions: Lindenwood - 15 ; ASU - 10
Advantage Opportunities: Lindenwood - 2-for-10 ; ASU - 7-for-15
Sprints: Lindenwood - 3-for-4 ; ASU - 4-for-4
Cards: YC - ASU (HC, AJ Grucky), Lindenwood (HC - Marco Cubranovic) ; RC - Lindenwood (Marco Tschlenok)
Officials: Rick Marsh, Perry Korbakis
