SANTA CLARA, Calif. — The No. 17 Santa Clara University men's water polo team controlled stretches of the first half Saturday and held a one-goal lead at halftime, then again midway through the third quarter, but No. 20 Brown pulled away late to earn a non-conference, 14–9, victory on day two of the Julian Fraser Memorial at Sullivan Aquatic Center.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Riccardo De Simon's power-play goal midway through the third period gave No. 17 Santa Clara (7-10) an 8-7 lead, breaking what was the game's seventh tie score. No. 20 Brown (15-6) responded by scoring seven unanswered goals over the game's final 10 1/2 minutes. The Bears' last three scores came on two penalty shots and an empty netter from across the pool.
- It was a complete reversal from the first half, a game in which neither team led by more than one goal until the last second of the third period. The game saw eight tie scores before Brown pulled away. Santa Clara missed 11 shots and turned the ball over four times during Brown's decisive run. The Broncos got back on the scoreboard with 10 seconds left in the game on a goal from Reece Hammond off an assist from Jamie De Zwart.
- A number of underclassmen saw time in the water for the Broncos Saturday. True freshman Beck Early dished an assist and grabbed the first three steals of his career. Redshirt freshman Weston Bancroft took a shot, as did redshirt sophomore Julien Chow.
- Redshirt junior goalie Owen Van Stralen played all 32 minutes in net for the Broncos and made nine saves. Van Stralen also tacked on two assists and three steals. De Simon scored a team-high three goals and drew three exclusions to go with a steal. Reese Jenican scored twice and drew three exclusions while Henry Engs put two balls in the net and tallied two assists for a four-point day. Jaxon Tierney led all players with five goals for Brown.
COMING UP
- Santa Clara closes out the Julian Fraser Memorial at 9:20 a.m. Sunday with a non-conference game versus No. 19 Harvard. Fans can find all live coverage links on SantaClaraBroncos.com, and find all information about the Julian Fraser Memorial on the tournament central page.
