LOS ANGELES — The No. 14 Santa Clara University men's water polo team earned a split on day two of the Overnght MPSF Invitational, narrowly falling to No. 15 California Baptist, 14-11, in the morning before dominating University of Redlands, 17-7, in the afternoon at USC's Uytengsu Aquatics Center.
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vs. #15 CALIFORNIA BAPTIST
- The No. 14 Broncos (5-4) clashed with West Coast Conference foe and No. 15-ranked California Baptist in the morning in a non-conference tussle, and it was as close as it could get. Neither team led by more than one goal for all but 3 1/2 minutes of the game, there were eight tie scores and six lead changes.
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- Santa Clara earned the first lead change in the first period with two unanswered goals from Henry Engs and Riccardo De Simon to give the Broncos a 2-1 lead. The scoring really got rolling in the second period, with both teams scoring four goals each. CBU surged ahead with a 4-1 run, taking a 5-3 lead, but the Broncos went back ahead before halftime with three unanswered goals from De Simon, Imme van der Schaaf and Jason Alietti.
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- The Broncos' last lead came with 5:41 left in the fourth period on a goal from De Simon – his sixth of the game – to put SCU up, 11-10. That's when the Lancers took advantage and surged ahead with four unanswered goals. The first was an advantage goal after van der Schaaf was excluded. The next came after a yellow card was issued to the Broncos, and the third came only 69 seconds later on a nice shot from Whitley Beamon. Luca Imbriolo sealed the game with the Lancers' fourth consecutive score at 59 seconds remaining, making it 14-11.
vs. REDLANDS
- No. 14 Santa Clara topped Redlands, 17-7, in a consolation bracket matchup Saturday afternoon. The Broncos outscored the Bulldogs in every period.
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- van der Schaaf was the standout player, netting five goals throughout the match, while Ashton Brown poured in three goals. The Broncos scored seven goals in the second period, going up big before halftime with an 11-5 lead.
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- Santa Clara's defense stepped up in the second half, limiting Redlands to only two goals, one each in the third and fourth periods. Goalie Owen Van Stralen anchored the defensive effort with 11 saves on the day.
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- The scoring began with a tight contest in the first period, ending at 4-3 in favor of Santa Clara through eight minutes. De Simon had a multi-goal game in the afternoon with two goals, and Reece Hammond, Grant Roesch, Harrison Villella, Thomas Wisdom, Julien Chow, Alietti and Reese Jenican all scored one each.
COMING UP
- The Broncos close out play in the Overnght MPSF Invitational at 11:30 a.m. on Sunday in the 13th place game versus No. 17 UC Santa Barbara. Fans can find all live coverage links on SantaClaraBroncos.com.
