Sonoma State Defeats Stanford in Triple OT Thriller

In a hard fought battle on both sides, the Seawolves defeated Stanford 12-11 on Saturday afternoon in a WCLL quarterfinal playoff game that took three overtime periods to be decided. 

In the first quarter, it was Stanford who struck first following a failed clear by Sonoma State that resulted in a quick goal by Stanford standout attackman Aaron Tiao. Shortly after, it was Team President and Senior Captain Danny Beglin who scored his first of three goals on the day on a nice step-down shot, set-up by a skip pass from Sophomore attackman Benen Powers. Stanford and Sonoma traded goals before Sophomore close defender Dylan Hardy ran through the heart of the defense to score, giving the Seawolves a 4-3 lead. 

In the second quarter, Benen Powers continued his stellar performance by scoring two unassisted goals back-to-back to bring the Seawolves lead to 6-3. Stanford was able to take advantage of an extra man opportunity late in the second quarter to bring the game to within two goals. At the half, Sonoma took to the shade under the redwoods with a 6-4 lead. 

In the second half, it was Benen Powers who again found space inside on a feed from Mason Colaizzi (Jr.) for a nice finish to start the scoring for the Seawolves in the second half. Freshman goalie Riley Corcoran entered the game in the third quarter and made huge saves down the stretch. He finished the game with four saves, including three in overtime, each of which were vital in the one goal victory. When the third quarter came to a close, the Seawolves entered the fourth trailing 7-9.

After back and forth scoring in the fourth, Stanford once again took advantage of an extra man opportunity to take an 11-10 lead with limited time remaining. It was Mason Colaizzi who beat his man on a right alley dodge late in the fourth to tie the game and force overtime.

The first two overtimes were neck and neck, with both teams getting several good looks on cage. Both goalies made a number of excellent saves to keep their team, and their season's hopes, alive. In the third overtime, Stanford called a timeout to draw up a play for their offense in an attempt to score and finish the game. The Sonoma State defense had other plans. 

A double team on-ball resulted in a forced turnover by Senior Defensive Captain Jared Segal (Sr.) and defender Dylan Hardy which gave the Seawolves a fast break going the other way.  In the end, it was attackman Mason Colaizzi who hit the game winner to end it with a lefty rip that found the back of the net. Colaizzi finished the game with three goals and one assist, with all three goals coming in the fourth quarter and overtime. 

The Seawolves will now advance to the WCLL semifinals to take on #7 ranked UC Santa Barbara on Saturday, April 27 at 11:30am. The game will be played at a neutral site at Los Gatos High School in Los Gatos, California.

The winner of the WCLL tournament will advance to the 2024 MCLA National Championship Tournament in Round Rock, Texas which begins on Monday, May 6th.