 |  |
Queen Arthur: No. 5 University of California-Davis Claims 2012 National Collegiate Club Championship with 2-1 Victory Against No. 1 California Polytechnic State University
2012 National Collegiate Club Championship Schedule & Results
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -- Tournament Most Valuable Player Christa Arthur (Sr., Sierra Madre, Calif.) made 10 saves to anchor No. 5 University of California-Davis to the program's first National Collegiate Club Championship as the Aggies knocked off No. 1 California Polytechnic State University, 2-1, at Florida State University's Morcom Aquatic Center.
The victory avenges a 6-2 win by Pacific Coast Division champion California Polytechnic over the Aggies in the 2011 National Collegiate Club Championship title game at the University of Notre Dame and snaps the four-year reign of the Mustangs as the National Champion.
Sierra Pacific Division runner-up UC-Davis, which previously placed fifth at home in 2009 and third in 2008 at Mt. Hood Community College in Oregon prior to last year's second place mark, helped continue a pattern of success by programs from the Golden State as now the past six (Cal Poly - 2011, 2010, 2009, 2008; Fresno State University - 2007; UC-Davis - 2012) and nine of the last 10 (Cal Poly - 2003, 2004, 2005) national championships have been claimed by either a Pacific Coast or Sierra Pacific Division team.
The Aggies become the first team that did not win a division championship to claim the national championship as the Aggies lost to the University of California-Santa Cruz by an 11-8 final score in the Sierra Pacific Division title tilt on April 15.
Cal Poly, which has now appeared in 10 of the past 11 title games at the National Collegiate Club Championship, fell to 36-4 since 2002 at the championship as the Mustangs had defeated Michigan State University (2003), Dartmouth College (2004, 2005), University of Oregon (2008), University of Notre Dame (2009), Michigan (2010) and UC-Davis (2011) for championships, while falling to Michigan State (2002) and Fresno State (2007) in previous title championship appearances.
The game was a defensive struggle highlighted by glimmers of offense as neither team put a ball way until Helen Compton (Jr., Martinez, Calif) fired in a shot with 41 seconds remaining in the second period.
UC-Davis balanced the scoreboard 1:15 into the third quarter as Lisa Dewar (Sr., Alamo, Calif.) connected on a blast at the 5:45 mark of the period to make it 1-1.
Needing a score to secure the program's first National Championship, Kaylin Claypool (Fr., Marin, Calif.) stepped up to the challenge and made history by swishing a ball past Cal Poly goalie Morgan Rollo (Jr., Santa Cruz, Calif.) and into the mesh for the deciding factor with 5:08 left on the clock in the fourth quarter.
Arthur did the rest as she recorded a pair of saves over the final five minutes to lock-up Player of the Game accolades and the championship for the Aggies.
For Cal Poly, Rollo finished with seven saves as she combined with Arthur to headline the lowest scoring National Collegiate Club Championship title game in the history of the sport.
In terms of the impact on the future championships, due to UC-Davis claiming the crown, the Sierra Pacific Division will hold the No. 1 position for the 2013 National Collegiate Club Championship tournament at a site to be determined. It marks only the second time the Sierra Pacific will hold the No. 1 spot in a championship field as Fresno State University claimed the 2007 title in Oregon against Cal Poly to give their division the top slot in the 2008 field.
The Pacific Coast Division, which has held the No. 1 spot since Cal Poly won its first of four consecutive championships in 2008, will be the No. 2 seed for the 2013 tournament.
History could be on the side of the Mustangs returning to the top of the sport next year as the previous two times the Mustangs lost a title game (2002 vs. Michigan State; 2007 vs. Fresno State), Cal Poly returned to reel off three and four consecutive championships from 2003-to-2005 and 2008-to-2011.
| Teams |
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | -- | Final |
| No. 5 University of California-Davis |
0 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
-- | 2 |
| No. 1 California Polytechnic State
University |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
-- | 1 |
Cal Poly Goals:
Helen Compton
UC-Davis Goals:
Lisa Dewar; Kaylin Claypool
Saves: Cal Poly - Morgan Rollo (7) ; UC-Davis - Christa Arthur (10)
Exclusions: Cal Poly - 6 ; UC-Davis - 5
Advantage Opportunities: Cal Poly - 0-for-5 ; UC-Davis - 0-for-6
Sprints: Cal Poly - 0-for-4 ; UC-Davis - 4-for-4
Officials: Humberto Navarro, JR Perez
University of
California-Davis head coach Jonathan Gullone celebrates with the
2012 National Collegiate Club Champion Aggies
