SANTA CLARA, Calif. – Hosting the top team in its conference, No. 19 Santa Clara men's water polo fell to No. 10 UC San Diego by a final of 11-6 on Saturday. The loss puts the Broncos at 9-15 overall and 6-8 in conference play.
"I thought the team came out and played well in the beginning of the game," said Bronco head coach Keith Wilbur. "We were playing good defense but in the third quarter we had some mental lapses that they took advantage of. They're the top team in our conference but we've been playing better each week and if we continue to do so we have a chance to do well at the conference tournament."
Jimmy Moore led the offense with two goals scored while Matt Kochalko, Kyle Nadel, Evan Chang and James Rude each found the net once. Nadel added two assists and Rude and Garratt Johnson each had two earned ejections. In goal John Nash and Matt Pritchett each had six blocks.
The Broncos were tied 2-2 at the end of the first quarter and only trailed 5-4 at halftime but UCSD came out strong in the third quarter to put the game away. At the end of three periods it was 8-5 before UCSD scored three more in the fourth to seal the 11-6 win.
SCU 2 2 1 1 6
UCSD 2 3 3 3 11
Goals: Moore 2, Kochalko, Nadel, Chang, Rude
Blocks: Nash 6, Pritchett 6
