Sept. 9, 2001
SAN DIEGO, Calif. - Senior Jay Moorhead scored the match-winning goal with 25 seconds left in regulation to lift the Santa Clara University men's water polo team to a 4-3 victory over Redlands to close out play at the Triton Invitational, hosted by UC San Diego this weekend. Earlier in the day, the Broncos soundly defeated Pomona 14-5 to improve to 3-1 at the tournament and 4-2 on the season.
Redlands took a 3-1 halftime lead into the fourth quarter, as neither team scored in the third frame. Sophomore Logan Gee scored midway through the quarter to pull within one. Santa Clara tied the contest on the next possession with Moorhead's second goal of the game and then scored the match-winner in the final minute.
"We had some defensive mix-ups earlier on and unfortunately for us, Redlands took advantage," Santa Clara head coach Steve Hanson said. "We couldn't match them for a while, but once we settled in to our defense, we shut them down for the rest of the contest. Our offense bounced back as a result of that."
Freshman Peter Moore played the entire match in goal, registering a career-high 12 saves.
In the day's earlier match, Hanson continued alternating goalkeepers, playing sophomore Gareth Owens against Pomona. Owens posted three saves in the 14-5 Bronco victory.
Sophomore Kenny Flanagan led scoring with four goals, while Moorhead, senior Dan O'Connell and Gee posted three each. Junior defender Dan Figoni added two goals, while freshmen Mark Perlite and Mark Oda registered one score each.
"We controlled this match from start to finish," Hanson said. "They couldn't counter attack against us and most of our scores were on the fast break. Everybody got the ball, we were able to play the whole bench. Our defense was hard-pressured defense and we just played fantastic."
The Broncos return to the pool in Redlands next week for the Inland Empire Classic. Santa Clara will open the tournament on Saturday against LaVerne at 10:15 a.m. followed by a rematch against Pomona at 2:45 p.m. Sunday's action will include another rematch against Redlands, at 10:15 a.m., as well as a contest against Chapman at 1:15 p.m.