SANTA CLARA, Calif - After topping long-time rival No. 18 Loyola Marymount last weekend at the Kap7 SoCal Invitational, the No. 16 Santa Clara men's water polo team will play their first conference game of the season at No. 10 UC Davis on Saturday at 12 noon.

The Broncos and the Aggies already met once this season at the Aggie Shootout where UC Davis came away with a 15-11 win in a physical contest. Santa Clara will look to start their conference schedule off on the right foot this weekend by getting a win of their own.

UC Davis is the top-ranked team in the WWPA, but the Broncos are used to taking on tough competition, facing 13 teams in the top-20 rankings this season. At the Kap7 SoCal Invitational last weekend, SCU faced No. 5 Pacific, No. 18 LMU, No. 8 Pepperdine, and No. 15 UCSD. The team showed improvement on both sides of the ball.

Owen Asalone and John Raineri lead the Broncos with 22 and 23 goals each this season. When the two teams faced off last time, Raineri found the back of the net four times.

Senior captain Evan Chang and redshirt junior Will Grant continue to earn power play opportunities for SCU with 60 total earned ejections between them. Converting these chances into goals will be key for the upcoming conference schedule.

Santa Clara will then host its annual home tournament, The Rodeo, Oct. 22-25.

Pictured is RS freshman Sam Toriggino (photo credit: Aaron Cheng)