Nov. 3, 2001
DAVIS, Calif. - Senior Jay Moorhead did not start for the first time this season while nursing a hip injury, but convinced Santa Clara University men's water polo head coach Steven Hanson into playing him in the second half in a match against No. 20 UC Davis. Moorhead went on to tie the game in the fourth quarter and recorded the game-winner in the Broncos' 8-7 Western Water Polo Association win this afternoon at Hickey Pool in Davis.
"It was hard to sit Jay out," Hanson said. "I could see he was hungry, he wanted to play badly. We sat him out in the first half and he talked me into putting him in. We used him a little bit in the third quarter and a little bit more in the fourth. He scored two huge goals for us."
Sophomore Kenny Flanagan and junior Dan Figoni scored in the first quarter for the Broncos. The Aggies matched that in the first and added a third score for a 3-2 halftime lead. In the third, freshman Nick Takahashi scored while freshman Grant Allison added a score to tie the match at five goals apiece heading into the final quarter. Moorhead scored a back-handed goal to tie the match at six while Figoni put the Broncos ahead by one with his second goal of the contest.
Tim Rogers led UCD with three goals, while George Dingeldein's goal with 1:40 remaining in the game tied the score at 7-7.
The winning goal came from Moorhead with 42 seconds remaining in the contest.
"It was a tough game, a game I felt we let slip away," Aggie Head Coach Steve Doten said. "We are improving in the fact that we are getting a lot of scoring opportunities. It was just a hard loss."
With the victory, the Broncos improve to 8-12 and top UC Davis for the first time in three tries this season. The Aggies fall to 5-13 overall.
The Broncos return to tomorrow to close the regular season at the Leavey Pool, hosting UC Santa Cruz at noon.
Santa Clara 8, No. 20 UC Davis 7
Scoring 1 2 3 4 - F
Santa Clara 2 0 3 3 - 8
UC Davis 2 1 2 2 - 7
Santa Clara Goals: Dan Figoni (2), Jay Moorhead (2), Nick Takahashi (2), Grant Allison, Kenny Flanagan.
UC Davis Goals: Tim Rogers (3), Brian Combs, Brook Rogers, George Dingeldein, Matt Jones.
Saves: Peter Moore (SCU) 5, Travis Engelman (UCD) 7.