SANTA CLARA, Calif. — No. 11 Long Beach State escaped Sullivan Aquatic Center with a 15-14 win over No. 16 Santa Clara men's water polo on Saturday, surviving a wild finish that came down to the final 20 seconds.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• The Beach (11-5) sealed the game with a pair of last-second plays. Long Beach State goalie Joseph Jenness made a point-blank save with 32 seconds remaining and the score tied at 14-14, denying Thomas Wisdom's open look off a cross-net pass from Imme van der Schaaf. Jenness quickly pushed the counter, sending a half-pool-length pass to Gabi Acosta, who finished on the other end with a shot that ricocheted off the inside of the post and into the goal for a 15-14 lead with only 18 seconds left.
   
• Santa Clara (7-7) had battled back moments earlier, scoring twice in a 90-second stretch to pull even at 14-14. Freshman Ashton Brown scored from the middle off a van der Schaaf assist, then van der Schaaf tied it himself less than two minutes later with an outside shot from the right.
   
• The Broncos trailed 13-11 and 14-12 in the fourth quarter, as well as 11-9 and 12-10 in the third, after the Beach broke open a stretch of back-and-forth play with consecutive goals late in the third — one on a penalty shot. From the time Long Beach State tied it 4-4 in the second period, neither team led by more than one goal until those late-third-period scores. The sides were level at every goal total from 4 through 9, including an 8-8 halftime tie.
   
• Santa Clara opened hot, scoring three unanswered goals in the first 4:15 of the game for a 3-0 lead. Riccardo De Simon struck twice to start the afternoon, followed by Jason Alietti's goal. Neither team led by more than two after that early stretch.
   
• De Simon led all scorers with a career- and season-high-tying six goals, adding an assist, two steals, a drawn exclusion, a field block, and two sprint wins. Van der Schaaf totaled two goals and three assists for a five-point day, while Henry Engs set a career high with six assists, adding a goal and two drawn exclusions. Sandro Pueyo led the Beach with three goals, and Harrison Labrosse made eight saves in goal for the Broncos.

COMING UP

• Santa Clara hits the road next weekend for two West Coast Conference games, visiting California Baptist on Thursday before returning to the Bay Area to face South Bay rival San Jose State on Saturday. Fans can find all live coverage links on SantaClaraBroncos.com.