BERKELEY, Calif. – In the second to last game of the regular season, No. 18 Santa Clara men's water polo fell to No. 4 Cal on the road by a final of 15-8. The loss drops the Broncos to 9-17 overall in 2012.
Santa Clara will have Senior Day on Sun., Nov. 11 at the Sullivan Aquatic Center vs. No. 16 UC Davis.
"I thought we started off cold," said Santa Clara head coach Keith Wilbur. "That being said, I thought we played well after the first quarter which was good. I saw a lot of good things once we started playing well. We have some good things to build on for tomorrow."
Santa Clara was led of offense by Matt Kochalko and James Rude who each scored two goals. Scoring once each were Connor Brown, Kyle Nadel, Theo Nasser and Chase Schaaf. Matt Burke and Jimmy Moore each had two assists. On defense Casidhe McClone had three steals and Nadel added two while Brown had two earned ejections and Garrat Johnson had two earned ejections as well. In net John Nash picked up four blocks while Matt Pritchett had three and Connor Brown collected one.
The Broncos fell behind 7-0 after a tough first period and couldn't mount a comeback. At the end of the first half the score was 11-3 but Santa Clara had a big third quarter, outscoring the Bears 5-1. The game ended 15-8 after a 3-0 Cal fourth quarter.
SCU 0 3 5 0 8
CAL 7 4 1 3 15
Goals: Kochalko 2, Rude 2, Brown, Nadel, Nasser, Schaaf
Blocks: Nash 4, Pritchett 3, Brown 1
