PRINCETON, N.J. — The No. 19 Santa Clara University men's water polo team posted a statement win Friday to open the Princeton Invitational, taking down No. 18 George Washington – who had just been ranked ahead of the Broncos in this week's polls – in dominating fashion, 17-8, at Princeton's DeNunzio Pool.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• No. 19 Santa Clara (3-0) never trailed Friday, jumping out to a 3-0 lead over the No. 18 Revolutionaries (2-5) within the game's first 90 seconds and not looking back. The Broncos would lead 5-2 after the first period and 8-5 at halftime.
   
• A trio of Broncos posted three-goal games. Jason Alietti tied a career high with three, Luke Baird scored three times, and Imme van der Schaaf turned in his third multi-goal game in as many this season with three, including two in the fourth period.
   
• Santa Clara's defense stepped up big in the second half, limiting George Washington to only three total goals in the third and fourth periods. Andrea Forno scored two of his team-leading three goals in the second half for GW, and Ben McDade scored once. Yam Kabakov also scored three times for the Revolutionaries – all in the first half.
   
• Riccardo De Simon was Santa Clara's other multi-goal scorer with two. The Broncos pulled away from George Washington in the fourth period with seven goals from six different scorers, outscoring them, 7-2, in the final eight minutes. Ashton Brown, Charlie Kosinski, Harrison Villella, Thomas Wisdom, Beck Early and Weston Bancroft all had single goals Friday for SCU.

COMING UP

• The Broncos continue play at the Princeton Invitational on Saturday with two games. The day begins at 6:30 a.m. PDT / 9:30 a.m. EDT with a showdown versus host and No. 13-ranked Princeton. The Broncos go back in the pool at 5 p.m. PDT / 8 p.m. EDT with a neutral site game versus Mount St. Mary's. The Princeton game will be streamed live on ESPN+. Fans can find all live coverage links on SantaClaraBroncos.com.