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No. 9 Columbia University Tops No. 8 University of Michigan 11-8 in National Collegiate Club Championship First Round
2011 National Collegiate Club Championship Schedule & Results
ATLANTA, Ga. -- No. 9-ranked Columbia University built a 2-0 lead in the first period and never looked back in upending No. 8 University of Michigan 11-8 in the first round of the 2011 Men's National Collegiate Club Championship at Georgia Tech University.
Led by a hat-trick from Austen Oliver (Sr., Houston, Texas), the New York Division champion Lions advance to a 12:30 p.m. meeting on Saturday, November 12 against the winner of a first round game between No. 19 St. Louis University and the University of Illinois-Chicago. Michigan will next meet the loser of the St. Louis-UIC game at 7:30 p.m. this evening in the consolation bracket.
Following half a period of scoreless water polo, the Lions stopped defending their own cage and went looking for offense as Kai Golden (Jr., Kahalu'u, Hawaii) snapped off back-to-back goals at 3:15 and 2:20 to give Columbia a 2-0 lead in the first period.
The offense continued in the second period as Chris Takahashi (So., Los Angeles, Calif.) put the Big Ten Division champion Wolverines on the board with a man-up goal at 6:28. Columbia responded to Michigan's attempt to cut into the margin with back-to-back strikes by Caleb Greig (Gr., Los Angeles, Calif.) and Oliver at 5:47 and 3:56 to make it 4-1.
Michigan battled back over the remainder of the half to move to within 5-4 prior at halftime and set-up a dramatic finish to the contest.
Columbia cushioned its margin with strikes by Brice Patricelli (Gr., Connecticut, Calif.) and Greig at 4:02 and 2:32 to make it a 7-4 game before Takahashi (2:10) and Kevin Jensen (Jr., Ann Arbor, Mich.) (1:25) to return the spread to a single marker at 7-6 through three periods of play.
Needing some breathing room to keep the Wolverines at bay, Oliver responded tossing in his second tally of the afternoon at 2:53 to push the Lions out to an 8-6 lead. The teams then exchanged goals with Abiel Garcia (Gr., Houston, Texas) and Matthew Woelfel (Sr., East Grand Rapids, Mich.) connecting on shots at 1:55 and 1:43, respectively, to make it 9-7.
The game would get no closer than two markers the rest of the way as Oliver completed a hat-trick at 1:04 to move the scoreboard to 10-7 and Levi Barry (Sr., Ann Arbor, Mich.) responded with 52 seconds left on the clock to slide the Wolverines to within 10-8.
However, strong defense over the final minute of play and a score by Diego Lora Coronado (Gr., New York, N.Y.) with 19 seconds in the game terminated any hopes of a Michigan comeback.
For Michigan, Woelfel led the way with four goals and three steals, while Takahashi netted a pair of strikes.
On the other end of the tank, Golden starred for Columbia contributing pairs of goals and steals
In cage, Silas Wilkinson (So., Pallettown, Calif.) posted five saves and a steal in earning the win, while Ray Viviano (Jr., Ann Arbor, Mich.) equaled Wilkinson in blocks in taking the loss.
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | -- | Final | |
| No. 9 Columbia University |
2 | 3 |
2 |
4 |
-- | 11 |
| No. 8 University of Michigan |
0 |
4 |
2 |
2 |
-- | 8 |
Michigan Goals:
Matthew Woelfel (4); Chris Takahashi (2); Kevin Jensen; Levi
Barry
Columbia Goals:
Austen Oliver (3); Abiel Garcia (2); Caleb Greig (2); Kai Golden
(2); Brice Patricelli; Diego Lora Coronado
Saves: Michigan - Ray Viviano (5) ; Columbia - Silas Wilkinson (5)
Exclusions: Michigan - 5 ; Columbia - 6
Advantage Opportunities: Michigan - -for-6 ; Columbia - -for-5
Sprints: Michigan - 3-for-4 (1st, 2nd, 3rd) ; Columbia - 1-for-4 (4th)
Columbia University's Austen Oliver unleashes a pass
