Check out photos from the game! (Credit Denis Concordel)
SANTA CLARA, Calif. – In its first home game of the season, No. 19 Santa Clara men's water polo fell to No. 17 Bucknell 10-7. The loss moves the Broncos to 7-12 overall in 2012.
The Broncos will return to the pool tomorrow to take on Cal Baptist at 1 p.m. at the Sullivan Aquatic Center.
Matt Kochalko and Theo Nasser led the offense with two goals scored each while Kyle Nadel, Tucker Carlson and Chase Schaaf each scored once. Kochalko and Nasser added two assists apiece and Mark Davis had one steal. In goal, John Nash collected two saves while Matt Pritchett had six.
"I thought the guys came out with a lot of energy in front of a great home crowd," said Bronco head coach Keith Wilbur. "I was really excited with the students that came out and it was really fun to play in front of them. Bucknell ran a good defense so it was hard to get inside. We didn't do a good job converting our outside shots which was the biggest problem for us. I thought we had some spots where we were about to make a run but we had some defensive lapses which cost us too. It's a young team so they need to learn how to feed off the crowd, how to make a comeback and make stops after scoring."
The score was even at 1-1 through one period but Bucknell was able to take a 4-3 lead into half time. The Bison outscored the Broncos 5-3 in the third quarter to take a 9-6 lead and would ultimately win the game 10-7.
SCU 1 2 3 1 7
BUCK 1 3 5 1 10
Goals: Kochalko 2, Nasser 2, Nadel, Carlson, Schaaf
Saves: Nash 2, Pritchett 6
