MILWAUKEE (May 23, 2022) – Many observers of Ultimate wondered if Oklahoma Christian's unique scholarship system would instantly turn the Eagles into the dominant program in USA Ultimate Division III. The answer has been an emphatic yes.
On Monday morning, for the second time in five months, OC's club team won the Division III national title. The Eagles recorded five straight points early in the second half – three on goals by newcomer
Thomas Maguire – to down previously unbeaten, No. 1-seeded St. Olaf (Minn.)
15-11 in the championship game at Uihlein Soccer Park.
The sixth-seeded Eagles won 10 straight postseason matches – four in the South Central Regional, six at the Division III Championship tournament – after dropping their opener in the regional event. They also pulled off what might be an unprecedented double for any sport, winning two national titles in the same sport in the same academic year under the same governing body.
Because there was no collegiate Ultimate postseason in spring 2020 or spring 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, USA Ultimate decided to hold the 2021 postseason at the end of the fall 2021 semester, a time when most Ultimate teams usually are playing preseason matches or scrimmages. Under the unique setup,
OC won the Division III title in December in Norco, Calif.
With the sport now back on a somewhat normal schedule, the 2022 postseason – as it usually is – was conducted during the spring 2022 semester, with the national tournament held in May.
"The guys played out of their minds," OC coach
Garrett Taylor said. "We had some really tough opponents to play against and the guys showed a lot of heart. We knew they were a good team going into it. We brought the energy. We brought the positivity. It was cool! It was cool to do it twice, especially in one (academic) year."
OC had survived two matches decided on universe point during the national tournament, edging No. 3 seed Berry (Ga.) 15-14 in pool play on Saturday and No. 2 seed Middlebury (Vt.) in the semifinals on Sunday. For a little more than a half, it looked like Monday's title game – played before a decidedly pro-St. Olaf crowd – also would go down to the wire, with the Eagles and Bezerkers locked in a tight duel.
With the score tied 7-7, OC went on offense, only to have a St. Olaf defender force a turnover. OC's
Emmanuel Bilolo earned possession back by laying out for a block as the Bezerkers tried to finish off a break. Again, St. Olaf came up with a block by Luke Bleers, this time about 30 yards from the end zone, and again, the Eagles regained possession.
On OC's third opportunity to earn the point,
Samuel Roberts sent a deep shot to
Evan Card, who called a foul on a St. Olaf defender on the play, a call upheld by a game observer. The Eagles then worked the disc around to
Max Hamilton, who found
Jonathan Costello in the back corner of the end zone, sending OC to halftime ahead 8-7.
St. Olaf, which had only one break in the first half, quickly came up with another to start the second half and again tied the game, but that was the last point for the Bezerkers for quite a while.
Elliott Moore put the Eagles back ahead 9-8, catching a deep pass and then hitting Costello for a score.
St. Olaf's next possession proved key. A foul call against
Emmanuel Kameri was overturned by a game observer, resulting in a turnover for the Bezerkers. OC quickly recorded another break, with
Thomas Maguire catching a deep pass to set up the Eagles deep in St. Olaf territory, then – after a time-out – catching another pass from Roberts for a break and a 10-8 lead.
The breaks kept coming for the Eagles. Roberts laid out for a block to give OC possession, and then threw a backhand pass the length of the field. Maguire caught it for a score, making it 11-8. St. Olaf again turned the disc over and the Eagles again converted, with Card connecting with Maguire. Another St. Olaf turnover followed and Roberts sent another length-of-the-field pass to Maguire for another score, and the Eagles' lead ballooned to 13-8.
"We worked as a team," said Maguire, a transfer from Messiah (Pa.) who joined the Eagles at the semester break. "Sammy Roberts is putting it there.
Evan Card is putting it there. Everyone just (gave) me the opportunities, putting the disc exactly where it needs to be. It's not (me) doing anything. It's them doing what they need to do and making it easy for me."
After Maguire's final goal – his fifth of the game – the result was academic. St. Olaf did record one more break and pulled within 13-10, but Moore caught another long pass from Roberts for the Eagles' penultimate point, then delivered a strike to Bilolo from about 10 yards out for the winning score, with Bilolo toe-tapping after making the catch just inside the boundary line.
Moore, one of the stars of OC's 2021 title run, had two goals and five assists against St. Olaf. Costello finished with four goals and three Ds, while Roberts added five assists and two Ds.
Emmanuel Kameri contributed two goals and three Ds and
Trevor Cook also scored two goals for the Eagles.
Will Brandt led St. Olaf with three goals, three assists and three Ds, while Gabriel Weigel added two goals, an assist and three Ds.
GAME VIDEO
STATISTICS
GARRETT TAYLOR INTERVIEW
THOMAS MAGUIRE INTERVIEW
ULTIWORLD.COM STORY
