SANTA CLARA, Calif. - The Santa Clara men's water polo team defeated the Brown Bears 13-12 on the final day of the Julian Fraser Memorial Tournament at the Sullivan Aquatic Center. The Broncos were led by Luke Baird with a hat trick and Harrison Labrosse, who totaled eight saves, including a game-winning denial at the buzzer. The Broncos improved to 2-1 in the tournament, defeating UC Merced on Friday and falling just short to No. 13 Harvard yesterday.

HOW IT HAPPENED:

• The Broncos (10-7, 0-2) struck first as Luke Baird scored the first two goals of the game, with the second goal coming halfway through the first period. However, Brown fought back, scoring three goals in just as many minutes to take a 3-2 lead. A goal from Henry Eggs evened the score just before the end of the first period.
• After a Brown goal, back-to-back goals from Riccardo De Simon gave the Broncos a 5-4 lead halfway through the second period. A shot clock buzzer-beating goal by Harrison Villella put the Broncos up 7-5 heading into halftime.
• A powerplay goal from Zach Fales put the Broncos ahead 8-5, but three straight goals from the Bears evened the score at 8. A Broncos goal from Julian Chow made it 9-8, but Brown evened the count at 9 heading into the final period.
• Gojko Kapovic broke the deadlock for the Broncos with the first goal of the fourth period, then a penalty shot from Jack Fales found the back of the net to put the Broncos up 11-9. After a Brown goal, a score from Reese Jenican put the Broncos back up two, 12-10.
• A beautiful pass from De Simon found Luke Baird for his third goal of the game with three minutes left to put the Broncos up 13-10. However, Brown answered, scoring two straight goals to cut the lead to 13-12, but a last second save from Harrison Labrosse preserved the victory for the Broncos.

NOTABLE NUMBERS:

• Three Broncos had multi-goal games:  Luke Baird (3) Riccardo De Simon (2), and Zach Fales (2).
• Riccardo De Simon led the Broncos with nine goals in the tournament, including two today.
• Harrison Labrosse played all 32 minutes in goal, recording eight saves, one steal and one assist, including a game saving denial at the buzzer. 
• The Broncos finished the tournament 2-1 overall.

POSTGAME INTERVIEW:

exciting win at Sullivan today ??

Hear about it from Coach Wilbur ??#StampedeTogether pic.twitter.com/fGJIQe6EXe

— Santa Clara Water Polo (@SCUPolo) October 27, 2024

 
UP NEXT: The Broncos will start a four-game road trip, beginning at Pepperdine on Friday, Nov. 1 at 1 p.m.