RIVERSIDE, Calif. — The No. 17 Santa Clara men's water polo team jumped out to an early 2-0 lead Thursday at No. 14 California Baptist, but the first-place Lancers rallied and answered every push late to take a 13-8 West Coast Conference win at the Lancer Aquatics Center.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• Imme van der Schaaf struck twice on consecutive possessions to open the game, giving the No. 17 Broncos (7-8, 1-1 WCC) a 2-0 advantage just 40 seconds in. The No. 14 Lancers (18-7, 3-0 WCC) responded with five straight goals from four different players — including two from Michael Abshier — to go up 5-2.
   
• Luke Baird stopped the run with a goal to end the first quarter at 5-3, then added another early in the second to make it 6-4. Van der Schaaf scored again to keep it a two-goal game at 7-5, but CBU countered with another before halftime to take an 8-5 lead into the break.
   
• A defensive third period saw only one goal — by California Baptist — as the Broncos missed six shots and committed five turnovers. The Lancers also had four turnovers and six misses but still extended their lead to 9-5. They added the first goal of the fourth to make it 10-5, and from there, matched every Santa Clara score to maintain their five-goal margin until the final buzzer.
   
• Van der Schaaf tied for the game high with three goals. He added an assist for a four-point day and swiped a game-best three steals. Baird had two goals, while Charlie Kosinski, Reese Jenican and Thomas Wisdom each added one goal. Wyatt Bugbee led the Lancers with three goals.

COMING UP

• Santa Clara wraps up its WCC road trip Saturday at 1 p.m. back in the South Bay, visiting crosstown rival and No. 6-ranked San Jose State. Live coverage links are available at SantaClaraBroncos.com.