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Columbia Shocks No. 15 Illinois-Chicago 5-3 in Consolation Bracket at National Collegiate Club Championship
GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- Will Reid (Gr., Greenwich, Conn.) earned Player of the Game honors for scoring four goals, including a key insurance tally with 15 seconds left in the fourth period, to lead the Lions of Columbia University to a 5-3 victory over No. 15-nationally ranked University of Illinois-Chicago in the consolation bracket of the National Collegiate Club Championship.
In a game that started and ended with Reid finding the back of the cage, the Lions led only twice with neither team building a lead larger than a single score until the final 18 seconds of play.
Reid opened the scoring with 5:21 left in the first period as he whipped a shot into the twine for a quick 1-0 lead, but the Flames responded in kind burning the Lions with a blast by Andrew Peterson (Sr., Mundelein, Ill.) and another tally by Joe Kamper (Fr., Orland Park, Ill.) at the 4:52 and five second marks to give UIC a 2-1 lead at the end of the period.
The margin could have been erased in the closing seconds of the period as Ante Vujic (Sr., Chicago, Ill.) took a penalty which allowed the Lions a five-meter shot on cage. However, UIC goalie Tyler Rayome (Sr., Mundelein, Ill.) came up big for this team wrestling the shot to the water to keep the Flames in front.
Following the stop, Columbia appeared to gain an advantage as Reid retied the game at 2-2 with a blast at the 5:29 mark of the second period. Neither team could score again over the final five and a half minutes of play in the period as the squads entered haltime knotted up at a pair of goals apiece.
The tie was short-lived in the second half, however, as Vujic scored at the 3:17 mark of the third period to put Illinois-Chicago ahead 3-2. However, the Lions roared back into the game as Reid completed a natural hat-trick with three scores when he beat Ramone with 40 seconds left on the clock courtesy a rising shot that sailed into the cage.
Tied at three-all entering the fourth period, Kai Golden (Fr., Hawaii, Hawaii) proved to be the hero deking his way through the UIC defense before uncorking a shot that zipped in the twine for a 4-3 lead as Columbia regained the advantage for the first time since the 4:53 mark of the first period.
Reid closed out the scoring with an insurance goal as he found the net for his fourth-and-final tally of the day with 18 seconds on the game clock for the 5-3 final.
The lead marked the first time that either team went in front by more than a single goal.
In cage, Xande Wright (Sr., Rio De Janeiro, Brazil) picked up the win for the Lions with 10 saves, while Ramone stopped six shots for the Flames.
The victory advances Columbia to a match-up at 1:40 p.m. on Saturday, November 14 against the victor of a second round game between No. 18 Yale University and No. 10 University of Florida. Overall, Columbia's victory was important as it guaranteed the Lions to finish no worse than 12th in the tournament.
Illinois-Chicago will conclude its competition at 8:40 p.m. on November 14 against the loser of the Florida-Yale game in a battle for 13th place. The loser of UIC's next game will finish in a tie for 15th, while the winner will tie for 13th as the National Collegiate Club Championship format does not currently permit the final four positions in the standings to be played out due to pool availability and to maximize the amount of time teams have to return to campus and avoid missed classtime.
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | -- | Final | |
| Columbia University | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | -- | 5 |
| No. 15 University of Illinois-Chicago | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | -- | 3 |
UIC Goals: Joe Kamper; Andrew Peterson; Ante Vujic
Columbia Goals: Will Reid (4); Kai Golden
Saves: UIC - Tyler Rayome (6) ; Columbia - Xande Wright (10)
Exclusions: UIC - 6 ; Columbia - 1
Advantage Opportunities: UIC - 0-for-1 ; Columbia - 0-for-6
Sprints: UIC - 4-for-4 ; Columbia - 0-for-4
