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No. 1 Cal Poly Moves Onto National Title Game with 8-3 Win Over No. 3 Arizona State at National Collegiate Club Tournament
ATHENS, Ohio -- Brandon Ross (So., San Diego, Calif.) and Josh Mix (Sr., Redwood City, Calif.) both tallied pairs of goals to lead six California Polytechnic State University scorers as the No. 1 nationally ranked Mustangs blanked No. 3 Arizona State University for the first half and held the Sun Devils to three second half goals to take the first of two semifinal games at the 2008 National Collegiate Club Championship at Ohio University.
In a game which featured a program with five National Collegiate Club Championships (Cal Poly - 1999, 2001, 2002, 2004, 2007) and a team with an Olympic silver-medalist goalie (Arizona State University - Betsey Armstrong), the two teams combined for 11 goals, six ejections, 11 saves and countless dramatic moments.
Unlike many of the National Collegiate Club Championship games in which the two teams facing off had never met during the season, Cal Poly and Arizona State had history entering the semifinal.
The game marked the second meeting between Cal Poly and Arizona State this year as the Mustangs knocked off the Sun Devils 8-6 during the weekend of September 20th.
Overall, Cal Poly is 2-1 against the other 2008 National Collegiate Club semifinalists as the Mustangs defeated No. 4 ranked the University of Florida 11-3 and fell 12-11 to fellow No. 1 ranked Michigan State University also on the weekend of the 20th.
Facing the Sun Devils once again, the Mustangs burst out of the gate building a 5-0 lead in the first half while holding Arizona State to only four shots on goal.
Mix opened the scoring for Cal Poly with 4:17 left in the first period as he beat Betsey Armstrong (Gr., Ann Arbor, Mich.) with a shot to put the Mustangs out in front to stay.
The margin exploded in the second period as Austin Price (Sr., San Clemente, Calif.), Ross and Mix found the back of the cage at the 4:55, 4:12 and 2:26 marks, respectively, to push the margin to 4-0 before 2007 National Player of the Year Daniel Harris (Sr., Gilroy, Calif.) connected on an exclusion goal with 39 seconds left in the first half for a 5-0 advantage.
Arizona State attempted to rally in the third period as Joey Sparks (Fr., Agoura Hills, Calif.) fired a shot that eluded Mustangs' netminder Casey Ryan (Jr., Belmont, Calif.) 54 seconds into the period to slice the lead to 5-1. However, Ross gave his team a five goal cushion again at the 3:03 mark to go in front 6-1.
The pattern repeated itself in the fourth as Sparks scored at the 5:57 mark and Kevin Heinichen (Gr., Santa Rosa, Calif.) reinsulated the lead with a score to set the margin at 7-2 before Wesley Sjoholm (Jr., Albuquerque, N.M.) and Justin Lekos (Jr., San Diego, Calif.) lit up the scoreboard at 3:57 and 2:18, respectively, for the 8-3 final.
California Polytechnic will now have a chance to make and continue history in the title game as only one program has ever recorded back-to-back championships, Cal Poly in 2001 and 2002. The last time the Mustangs achieved the feat, the team knocked off Villanova University (2001) and the University of Southern California (2002).
This time, the road to glory may go through the same team: Michigan State University.
Last year, the Mustangs needed a four goal performance by Harris, 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 time, history and experience may also not be on the Mustangs side as Cal Poly, which earned the No. 1 seed as the champion of the 2007 champion's division (Pacific Coast), will have to overcome the fact that the No. 1 seed has won only one title (2002-Cal Poly) in 15 prior National Collegiate Club Tournaments.
In terms of experience, Michigan State has appeared in the last three title tilts taking the 2006 crown and falling to Grand Valley State University (2005) and Cal Poly (2007) in the other two appearances. Plus, the Spartans already hold a win over the Mustangs this year, having defeated Cal Poly 12-11 in September.
If the University of Florida knocks off Michigan State in the other semifinal, then Cal Poly will have dramatic advantages as the Gators have not appeared in the tourney since 2003 and never played for the title finishing 11th in 2002, third in 2001 and eighth in 2000 in their previous three appearances before 2003.
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Final |
| Arizona State University | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| California Polytechnic State University | 1 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 8 |
Cal Poly Goals: Josh Mix (2); Brandon Ross (2); Daniel Harris; Kevin Heinichen; Justin Lekos; Austin Price
ASU Goals: Joey Sparks (2); Wesley Sjoholm
Saves: Cal Poly - Casey Ryan (9) ; ASU - Betsey Armstrong (2)
Ejections: Cal Poly - 3 ; ASU - 3
Sprints: Cal Poly - 4 ; ASU - 0
