Nov. 16, 2008

SANTA CLARA, Calif. - The No. 16 Santa Clara men's water polo team concluded the regular season with an 18-8 routing of conference rival UC Santa Cruz. The Broncos blasted the Banana Slugs at the Sullivan Aquatic Center to improve their record to 15-12 overall, 9-5 WWPA. Ten Broncos saw the back of the net, including redshirt senior Josh Early who scored three times, posted two assists and had one steal.

Santa Clara celebrated Senior Day in a ceremony prior to the game, honoring redshirt seniors Mike Detoy, Early, Andrew Fitch and Chris Parolin. Detoy drew a kick out and had a steal in his final home game at SCU.

"It was a great game to send out our seniors," said head coach Keith Wilbur. "We played well; everybody was able to get in the game and contribute."

Santa Clara dominated the entire game and kept the ball primarily outside the Santa Cruz goal. Junior Liam Farrell scored two goals and tallied two assists, while freshman Daley Meistrell got on the board once, assisted on two goals and notched three steals. Joshua Luebke had a standout defensive game for the Broncos, as the sophomore driver posted four steals; he also scored twice, had an assist and a kick out drawn.

Freshman Michael Wishart posted two blocks, had a steal and an assist in the first half, while redshirt freshman Thomas Favero, who concluded the game in goal, had six blocks. Two-meter defender Mitchell Klipa was both an offensive and defensive threat for the Broncos, as he had two goals and a steal.

The Broncos will move onto the WWPA Conference Tournament this Friday, Nov. 21 at Claremont. Opponents and times have yet to be determined.

Santa Clara 18, UC Santa Cruz 8

Goals
Farrell - 2, Early - 3, Meistrell - 1, Luebke - 2, Klipa - 2, Sorgenfrei - 1, Case - 1, Poggetti - 1, Wall - 3, Adler - 1, Hobbs - 1

Assists
Early - 2, Meistrell - 2, Luebke - 1, Parolin - 1, Poggetti - 1, Case - 2, Wall - 2, Zylstra - 2, Wishart - 1

Steals
Early - 1, Meistrell - 3, Luebke - 4, Klipa - 1, Parolin - 1, Detoy - 2, Poggetti - 1, Case - 2, Wall - 1, Adler - 1, Hobbs - 1, Wishart - 1

Kick Outs Drawn
Luebke - 1, Sorgenfrei - 2, Detoy - 1, Wall - 1, Zylstra - 1, Hobbs - 2, Poggetti - 1

Blocks
Wishart - 2, Favero - 6