SANTA CLARA, Calif. — They say that the 'third time is a charm,' and that proved to be true for No. 20 Santa Clara men's water polo on Friday afternoon. After suffering two heartbreaking overtime losses over the last couple of weeks, the Broncos finally turned the tables in their third overtime opportunity, taking down No. 16 Pacific in a 13-12 final at the Sullivan Aquatic Center. The win was the first conference victory for Santa Clara as members of the West Coast Conference and broke a streak of 15-straight losses to the Tigers. 

• It was a nail-bitting affair from start to finish with neither team holding more than a one-goal advantage at any time. 
• Santa Clara (11-11, 1-2) held the lead at the half at 5-4 and 8-7 at the end of the third. 
• The fourth quarter opened with five-straight possessions resulting in goals, leading to a 10-10 tie that held until 1:18 remaining when Billy Barry put the Broncos on top. 
• Santa Clara got the defensive stop they were looking for and wasted as much time as possible before turning it back over to the Pacific offense with less than 30 seconds remaining. That was all the time the Tigers would need to score the equalizer as they found the back of the net with just 11 seconds remaining to tie the match at 11 and send it to overtime. 
• Zach Fales struck first for the Broncos in the fifth period, but Pacific (11-10, 0-2) answered right back. 
• After some great defensive play on both sides to start to the sixth period, it was Reece Jenican who finally found the back of the net to give the Broncos what would prove to be the game-winning score with 1:48 to play. 
• The Broncos came up big defensively on consecutive possessions to close out the game and they were able to seal the victory with a long offensive possession that bled out the clock. 
• Fales finished with four goals and three assists to lead the scoring attack with Jenican and Barry scoring two goals each. 
• Harrison Labrosse played a great game in the net, finishing with 11 saves. 

Broncos picked up their first @WCCsports victory behind a gritty overtime performance.

Coach Wilbur and Reese Jenican shared their thoughts about the dub postgame ???#StampedeTogether pic.twitter.com/YdS9K08lAY

— Santa Clara Water Polo (@SCUPolo) October 28, 2023

• Meeting for just the first time since 2016, Santa Clara broke a streak of 15-straight losses to Pacific. 

NEXT UP

• The Broncos return next weekend with two more WCC contests beginning Friday against LMU before hosting Pepperdine for Senior Day on Sunday.