“He did not have a pulse when we got him out of the pool and we had to do CPR right there,” Leyson explained.

“All of his signs and tests are now positive and he’s making a full recovery, but he won’t be able to play. He was one of our key seniors and we’ll miss him, but we’re just glad he’s okay.”

Aggie head coach Dan Leyson, now in his eighth highly successful season guiding Aggie fortunes, refuses to look past UOP, a team UCD beat, 12-11, on a sudden death goal by Connor Norton less than a month ago.

“They’re hard to stop,” said Leyson of the Tigers, who enter the tournament with a 21-6 overall record.
“They have a really, really strong starting seven, good at every position and able to score a lot of goals quickly. They can play with anybody in the country.”

Add to that the feeling among the UOP coaching staff that there were several controversial calls that went UCD’s way in their first meeting.

“I don’t agree with them (UOP) about the calls, but I know it left a bitter feeling for them, so they’ll be highly motivated,” Leyson added.

As if playing for the national championship is not motivation enough.