Madonna Falls to Keiser in National Title Game; four named to all-tournament team

Keiser answered Madonna's second-quarter push with a decisive late goal before halftime, then controlled the final two quarters in a 20-10 victory Saturday at the Jack Allen Complex in Decatur, Ala.

The Seahawks built a 7-3 lead after the first quarter, fueled by a fast start from Kegan Hufford, who scored four times in the opening 15 minutes. Madonna rallied from there and cut the deficit to 9-8 on Spencer Guppy's unassisted goal with 1:49 left in the second quarter. Keiser's response came quickly and proved pivotal. AJ Badik scored at the 43-second mark to send Keiser into halftime with a 10-8 lead, and Madonna never got closer in the second half.

Ryan Rundle opened the scoring at 13:26 of the first quarter, and Hufford followed with a man-up goal from Rundle at 10:53 for a 2-0 edge. Hufford struck again twice more during the quarter, including his fourth goal at 2:39 to make it 7-3. After Madonna's rally in the second, Keiser regained control coming out of the break. Rundle scored at 8:50 of the third quarter to make it 11-8, and Marek Albiero added two third-quarter goals, the second stretching the margin to 14-8 with 2:31 remaining in the period.

Badik and Hufford each finished with five goals for Keiser, while Albiero added four and Rundle scored three with one assist. JP Prather supplied three assists, and Kyle Davis contributed two goals and two assists. Albiero's early fourth-quarter goal made it 15-9, and Badik's unassisted score with 8:49 left pushed the lead to 18-10. Albiero capped the scoring on a man-up chance with 5:55 remaining, finishing a feed from Prather for the 20-10 final.

Keiser held advantages in several key areas, outshooting Madonna 50-40, winning the ground-ball battle 47-31 and edging the faceoff count 17-16. The Seahawks also converted 4 of 6 man-up opportunities and cleared successfully on 23 of 26 attempts. Lucas Green made 10 saves on 20 shots for Keiser, while Madonna goalkeeper Jonathan Bendfeldt recorded 13 saves on 33 shots on goal.

Madonna was led by Ross Preston, Ryan Davis and Cooper Regimbal, who scored two goals apiece. The Crusaders showed life with their second-quarter surge, but Keiser's answer before halftime and steady second-half finishing prevented the comeback from carrying further in front of an announced crowd of 211.

All-Tournament Team

Keiser (Fla.)
Kyle Davis
Kegan Hufford
AJ Badik
Marek Albero
Shane Cassidy
Chris Rayburn

Madonna (Mich.)
Ross Preston
Spencer Guppy
Daniel Smith
Jonathan Bendfeldt

SCAD Savannah (Ga.)
Mason Hickman

William Penn (Iowa)
Nolan Soller