SANTA CLARA, Calif.- After dropping their first two games of the weekend, the No. 15 Broncos battled back to win their next two games, including a big win over No. 11 UC San Diego in triple overtime on Sunday. The Broncos are 6-4 for the season.
Santa Clara first faced its toughest competition of the tournament in its first game. They lost 21-9 to No. 3 Pacific. David Guibord led the team with two goals scored. Patrick Weiss, Theo Nasser, Evan Chang, Leland Wall, Michael Franco, Will Grant and Chase Schaaf all scored one goal each for the Broncos.
The Broncos rallied for their second game of the tournament against No. 12 UC Davis and lost in a heartbreaker 9-8. Heading into the fourth quarter, the Broncos were down 9-5 and went on a three goal unanswered run, pulling within one. Unfortunately, the Broncos could not convert their final timeout play of the game and lost by one.
Freshman Graham McClone came to play this game, scoring three goals. He was followed by Nasser who put in two. Tucker Carlson and Matt Godar also scored one goal.
Sunday proved to be a big day for the Broncos, and they came with their game face. After coming so close to beating UC Davis, the team was determined to win their next two games.
In the first game of the day, the Broncos defeated Diablo Valley College in a close game, 14-11. The Broncos jumped out to an early lead, making it 8-3 going into half. DVC battled back in the second half, but not enough for the win.
Kyle Nadel, Graham McClone and Carlson all had big games, scoring three goals each. Godar scored two goals and Jimmy Moore, James Rude and Nasser each scored one.
Ending the tournament with a bang, the Broncos took No. 11 UC San Diego to triple sudden death over time, also known as "golden goal", meaning the first team to score wins the game. Red-shirt senior Patrick Weiss sealed the deal for the Broncos and scored that golden goal to win the game.
"It was just an awesome game," said Wilbur. "The guys played with a lot of heart and really wanted this won. The guys had to battle hard in every quarter and it paid off for the win."
Moore scored with about a minute left to tie the game. Carlson scored two goals, including a big goal in the with seven second left on the clock in the first round of over time to tie the game at 10-10. Weiss scored three goals and Moore had two. Nasser, Godar, McClone and Rude each put up one goal too. Matt Pritchett also had a big game, recording 17 saves.
