May. 12th, 2001 - 2001 USLIA National Championship: Colorado State 16, Stanford 7

Final round play – Saturday May 12, 2001
2001 US Lacrosse Intercollegiate Associates National Championship:
# 3 seed Colorado State vs. # 12 seed Stanford
Anheuser Busch Sports and Conference Centre
Fenton, Missouri

The clock struck midnight for the 2001 USLIA Tournament's 12th seeded Stanford Cardinal as Colorado State won their 2nd National Championship in 3 years. After knocking off three consecutive higher seeded teams, Stanford couldn't conquer Colorado State in the finale. There was simply too much speed and power from the high octane Colorado State attack. Stanford got down early and couldn't generate enough offense to mount a comeback. After Cardinal attackman Kiel Rennick opened the scoring at 12:28 of the 1st quarter, Stanford wouldn't score another goal for over 15 minutes. Meanwhile Colorado State ripped off 7 in a row.

Colorado State attackman Ryan Davis was simply unstoppable this afternoon in the championship and emerged from the shadow of his more highly publicized attack teammates: Mike Roth and Mike Napolilli. The junior from Pittman H.S. (NY) had 3 goals in the 1st quarter as the Rams busted out to a quick lead and scored a game high 9 points (7 goals, 2 assists). Davis totaled 17 goals and 6 assists in 4 tournament games and was named Overall Tournament MVP for his efforts. Colorado State Head Coach Flip Naumburg noted that Davis didn't get the publicity he deserves because of Roth and Napolilli. Naumburg was ecstatic that Davis was named overall tournament MVP and notes that he is the team's "unsung hero".

Davis had the biggest grin of all on the field after the game and was stoked to be named as Overall Tournament MVP. "I love this team. We are one happy family. I'm very proud to be a Ram!"

CSU goalie Cale Vanvelkinburgh noted that his team was confident from the beginning of the tournament. "We have faced BYU 3 times and Colorado 4 times plus Michigan and Sonoma State. We knew we would probably have to face BYU sometime during the tournament again. And when we did (in the semifinals) we brought our 'A game' and got them when it counted the most."

Junior midfielder Ian Weiss (Augusta, ME) had 2 goals to lead Stanford on offense. Midfielder Adam Horowitz (Los Angeles, CA) and Attackman Kiel Rennick (Orchard Park, NY) chipped in with 2 points each for Stanford.

Cardinal Coach Pete Bijesse remarked that they "got beat by a good team today. We knew as the 12th seed that we would have to play some tough games. We simply ran out of gas at the end."

After surprising Simon Fraser, Sonoma State, and UC-Santa Barbara, Stanford came up short against Colorado State in the national championship. However, the Cardinal is a very young team and only loses a few seniors. Most members of the solid Stanford defense return next season, including Defensive Tournament MVP Paul Sargen, as they hope to make St. Louis an annual occurrence on the Cardinal's spring lacrosse schedule.

Appearing in their 3 consecutive national championship game, Colorado State wins their second national championship. Appearing in a record 4th consecutive national championship game might be tougher. "We lose a lot of firepower," notes Coach Naumburg. "We basically have to start from scratch next season." Replacing seniors like Goalie Cale Vanvelkinburgh, Attackman Mike Roth, Midfielder Loren Husson, and Defenseman Pat Coy won't be easy for Colorado State. But on this glorious afternoon Coach Naumburg concluded, "that this is the best team I've ever had and they played like the best team I've ever had."

BOX SCORE (1st qtr - 2nd qtr - 3rd qtr - 4th qtr: Total)
Colorado State: 6 – 3 – 4 – 3: 16
Stanford: 1 – 2 – 1 – 3: 7

Scoring Summary
Qtr Time of the Goal Team Goal Scorer (Assist if applicable): Game score
1st qtr 12:28 SU Kiel Renick: SU 1 – 0
1st qtr 10:54 CSU Ryan Davis: TIED 1 – 1
1st qtr 9:04 CSU Ryan Davis (Mike Roth): CSU 2 – 1
1st qtr 7:04 CSU Mike Roth (Loren Husson): CSU 3 – 1
1st qtr 4:55 CSU John Naab: CSU 4 – 1
1st qtr 1:25 CSU Ryan Davis: CSU 5 – 1
1st qtr :55 CSU Mike Napolilli (Ryan Davis): CSU 6 – 1
At the end of the 1st quarter, CSU leads 6 – 1.
2nd qtr 12:45 CSU Mark Plonkey: CSU 7 – 1
2nd qtr 12:06 SU Galen Lichtensten (Adam Horowitz): CSU 7 – 2
2nd qtr 6:06 SU (EMO) Ian Weiss: CSU 7 – 3
2nd qtr 2:51 CSU Mike Hamm (Mike Roth): CSU 8 – 3
2nd qtr 1:39 CSU Ryan Davis: CSU 9 – 3
At the half, CSU leads 9 – 3.
3rd qtr 13:46 CSU Doug Preibe (Ryan Davis): CSU 10 – 3
3rd qtr 12:49 CSU Ryan Davis (Mike Napolilli): CSU 11 – 3
3rd qtr 10:35 SU Andrew Wolf: CSU 11 – 4
3rd qtr 8:30 CSU Mike Napolilli (Kale Nelson): CSU 12 – 4
3rd qtr 2:01 CSU Nick Harper (Jim Hasson): CSU 13 – 4
At the end of the 3rd quarter, Colorado State leads 13 to 4.
4th qtr 14:19 CSU Doug Priebe: CSU 14 – 4
4th qtr 13:16 SU Ian Weiss: CSU 14 – 5
4th qtr 13:06 SU Adam Horowitz (Jacob Gardener): CSU 14 – 6
4th qtr 10:56 CSU Ryan Davis (Mike Napolilli): CSU 15 – 6
4th qtr 3:58 CSU Ryan Davis: CSU 16 – 6
4th qtr :01 SU Bryan Dunagan: CSU 16 - 7
Colorado State wins the 2001 National Championship Game 16 – 7.

Colorado State Scoring:
# 16 Ryan Davis (7 goals, 2 assists)
# 11 Mike Napolilli (2 goals, 2 assists)
# 12 Doug Priebe (2 goals)
# 13 Mike Roth (1 goal, 1 assist)
# 10 Mike Hamm (1 goal)
# 25 John Nabb (1 goal)
# 17 Mark Plonkey (1 goal)
# 2 Nick Harper (1 goal)
# 23 Kale Nelson (1 assist)
# 19 Loren Husson (1 assist)
# 21 Jim Hasson (1 assist)

Stanford scoring:
# 9 Ian Weiss (2 goals)
# 6 Adam Horowitz (1 goal, 1 assist)
# 21 Kiel Renick (1 goal, 1 assist)
# 10 Bryan Dunagan (1 goal)
# 32 Andrew Wolf (1 goal)
# 22 Galen Lichtensten (1 goal)
# 19 Pete Munzig (1 assist)

STATS
Saves: Colorado State's Cale Vanvelkinburgh (11 saves, 6 goals allowed in 55:57 minutes of play), Colorado State's Alex Smith (0 saves, 1 goal allowed in 4:03 minutes of play); Stanford's Joe Kennedy (3 saves, allowed 9 goals in 30 minutes of play), Stanford's Gavin Sun (7 saves, 7 goals allowed in 30 minutes of play).
Groundballs: CSU 50, Stanford 39
Faceoffs: CSU 13/27, Stanford 14/27
Shots: CSU 42, Stanford 24
Clears: CSU 15/33, Stanford 15/29
EMO: CSU 2/10, Stanford 2/5
Weather: Sunny, 78 degrees.

Check out the 2001 USLIA Tournament page for complete coverage and more tournament info from St. Louis!