Sept. 27, 2004

SANTA CRUZ, Calif. - The Santa Clara men's water polo team split a pair of matches for the second day at the Slugfest Tournament in Santa Cruz, Calif. SCU defeated LaVerne, 12-7 in the first match of the day before falling to UC San Diego, 11-4 in the later contest.

"Our underclassmen really stepped up in our first match," said head coach Keith Wilbur. "They hadn't had a match like that up until this point. The freshman combined for nine goals, which was great to see."

Freshman Matthew Martin continued to impress with a career-high four-goal performance in the 12-7 victory over LaVerne. Fellow freshman Luke Oda also posted a career-high and his first multiple goal match with two scores. Sophomore Kevin Starry added a hat trick, while freshmen Josh Early, Charlie Moore, and Thomas Kelly each scored a goal.

Chris Parolin and Kenny Flanagan-De La Hoz also had solid performances with each earning a four-meter shot and a kick-out. Goalkeeper Peter Moore had 14 saves and one steal in the cage for the Broncos.

"We played very hard against San Diego," said Wilbur. "It was a good physical match and we stuck with them for three of the four quarters."

UC San Diego scored five unanswered goals in the second quarter to build a lead the Broncos could not overcome in the 11-4 loss. Starry, Charlie Moore, Martin and Flanagan-De la Hoz scored the SCU goals. Peter Moore posted nine blocks and one steal.

The Broncos will head to the NorCal Tournament, one of the top tournaments of the season, next weekend in Stockton, Calif. SCU will compete in four matches over the two-day tournament.