Sept. 12, 2004

REDLANDS, Calif. - The Santa Clara University men's water polo team picked up its first win of the 2004 season with a 11-6 victory over Chapman in its final match of the Inland Empire Classic in Redlands, Calif. Earlier in the day, the Broncos fell to the host Redlands, 5-4 in a hard fought battle.

In its fifth match in three days, Santa Clara posted an impressive 11-6 win over Chapman. Kenny Flanagan-De la Hoz and Thomas Kelly each scored two goals in the contest to lead the Bronco attack. Brother Mark and Luke Oda, Chris Parolin, Josh Early, Matthew Martin, Patrick Noack and Danny Soares also found the back of the net for the Broncos.

Defensively, goalkeeper Charlie Moore continued his strong play in the cage, playing every minute of the weekend's matches. He posted 11 saves and two assists in a match dominated by the counterattack. Mark Oda and Kevin Starry also played well for the SCU defense with three steals, while Grant Allison earned four ejections.

"I stressed the counter today," said head coach Keith Wilbur. "It was the fourth match in two days. I kept rotating six guys in and six guys out the whole match. We used the whole bench because this team is so deep."

In the morning match, SCU rallied from a 4-1 deficit to even the score at 4-4 in the fourth quarter. However, Redlands would edge the Broncos with a 5-4 victory. Offensively, Parolin, Soares, Flanagan-De la Hoz and Peter Moore each recorded a goal for the Broncos.

"It was nice to get a win under our belt," said Wilbur. "It is still early in the year. We need to learn from these close losses and figure out how to win these games later in the year."

The Broncos will return to Northern California for a match-up with nationally ranked Pacific on Tuesday. Match time is set for 4:00 p.m. in Stockton, Calif.