No. 3 California Maritime Academy Sails Around No. 13 United States Military Academy, 16-9, in First Round of 2024 Men’s National Collegiate Club Championship
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Kevin Kraatz (Jr., Oceanside, Calif.) and Riley Kraatz (Jr., Oceanside, Calif.) combined for 10 goals to share Player of the Game recognition as Sierra Pacific Division Champion/No. 3-ranked California Maritime Academy sank New York Division Champion/No. 13 the United States Military Academy, 16-9, in the opening round of the 2024 Men’s National Collegiate Club Championship at the University of Florida’s Ann Marie Rogers Swimming & Diving Pool in the O’Connell Center.
The victory advances Cal Maritime into the tournament quarterfinals as the Keelhaulers will return to the water at 12:30 p.m. Eastern on Saturday, November 9, to face the winner of a first round matching Missouri Valley Division Champion/Division III No. 1 Washington University in St. Louis against Mid-Atlantic Division Champion/No. 14 Pennsylvania State University. Army will take on the fallen from the Bears-Nittany Lions game at 7:30 p.m. this evening in the consolation side of the 16-team championship bracket.
The game was closer than the final score in the first quarter as Kevin Kraatz (6:44, penalty shot) and Army’s Max Orlowski (6:21) exchanged goals in the first minute to make it a one-all game. Cal Maritime acquired a lead they would not relinquish the rest of the way as Ethan Osorio (Jr., Lakewood, Calif.) and Kevin Kraatz swished natural (5:53) and penalty shot (5:16) markers, respectively, to push the Keelhaulers ahead 3-1. Christopher Perera (Jr.) answered for Army at 4:51 via a man-up tally to shave the Cadets’ deficit down to one at 3-2 but Griffin Glassmire (Fr., Redlands, Calif.) spun home a power-play response with 4:12 left in the opening seven minutes to return Cal Maritime’s lead to a pair at 4-2.
Robby DeMont (Sr.) chpped the deficit back to 4-3 at 3:25, but Austin Hochadel (So., Whittier, Calif.) and Osorio closed out the first quarter with back-to-back strikes at 2:25 and 1:50, respectively, to help double-up Army, 6-3, exiting the opening seven minutes of action.
The lead continued to balloon in the dawning moments of the second quarter as Matthew Turecek (So., San Diego, Calif.) and Kevin Kraatz lined in shots with 5:46 and 4:14 remaining until halftime to make it an 8-3 contest. Wesley Baca (Sr.) terminated Cal Maritime’s 4-0 scoring run by rocketing in a response with 3:20 on the clock prior to delivering once again by converting a man-up chance with 1:34 left in the first half to shave the Keelhaulers’ margin down to 8-5.
However, Cal Maritime began to put the contest away in the first three minutes of the third quarter as Riley Kraatz (5:26, man-up; 4:17) and Kevin Kraatz (4:48) connected on shots to expand their squad’s lead to 11-5.
Jeremy Poster (Sr.) hung a goal on the Cal Maritime with 3:57 to play in the third quarter before Vincent Wong (So.,) and Orlowski (2:22) followed with strikes of their own to shrink Army’s deficit to 11-8 heading into the fourth quarter.
Kraatz and Kraatz did not the rest as the pair combined for four goals in the fourth quarter to provide some insurance for Cal Maritime to escape with a seven score win.
Kevin Kraatz started the final seven minutes by torquing home a tally with 5:58 on the clock. Perera answered for the Cadets at 4:43 to inch Army back to within three at 12-9, but Kevin Kraatz (3:40), Riley Kraatz (2:25; 1:46, penalty shot) and Warren Cooper (Fr., Lafayette, Calif.) (51 seconds, man-up) combined for a 4-0 outburst in the closing minutes of the game to lock-up the 16-9 victory.
For Cal Maritime, Kevin Kraatz (six), Riley Kraatz (four) and Osorio (two) posted multi-goal games, while Glassmire, Turececk, Cooper and Hochadel slipped in solo markers. Jacob Idris (Jr., Carlsbad, Calif.) stopped 13 shots to earn the win in cage.
Across the tank, Orlowski, Baca and Perera each put away pairs of shots with Wong, Poster and DeMont tacking on single scores. Joshua Merrill (Fr.) made seven saves in taking the loss.
| 1st Q | 2nd Q | 3rd Q | 4th Q | – | FINAL | |
| No. 13 United States Military Academy |
3 | 2 | 3 | 1 | – | 9 |
| No. 3 California Maritime Academy | 6 | 2 | 3 | 5 | – | 16 |
| Cal Maritime Goals: | Kevin Kraatz (6); Riley Kraatz (4); Ethan Osorio (2); Griffin Glassmire; Matthew Turecek; Warren Cooper; Austin Hochadel |
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| Army Goals: | Max Orlowski (2); Wesley Baca (2); Christopher Perera (2); Vincent Wong; Jeremy Poster; Robby DeMont | |||||
| Saves: | Cal Maritime – Jacob Idris (13) ; Army – Joshua Merrill (7) | |||||
| Exclusions: | Cal Maritime – 3 ; Army – 14 | |||||
| Advantage Opportunities: | Cal Maritime – 6-for-14; Army – 2-for-3 | |||||
| Sprints: | Cal Maritime – 2-for-4 (1st, 4th) ; Army – 2-for-4 (2nd, 3rd) | |||||
| Cards/Misconducts: | None | |||||
| Officials: | Kevin Heinrich; Chad Lemons | |||||
The United States Military Academy’s Christopher Perera (#9) looks for an opening as California Maritime Academy’s Ethan Osorio (#12) defends
The United States Military Academy’s Robby DeMont (#2) rises up to shoot over California Maritime Academy’s Riley Kraatz (#2)
The United States Military Academy’s Christopher Perera (#9) lines up a shot as California Maritime Academy’s Ethan Osorio (#12) closes in
The United States Military Academy’s Christopher Perera (#9) attempts to grab a steal from California Maritime Academy’s Ethan Osorio (#12)
