Nov. 5, 2004
SANTA CLARA, Calif. - The 19th-ranked Santa Clara University men's water polo team dropped a hard fought 8-7 contest in its final home match of the season, falling to 13th-ranked UC Davis at Leavey Pool. After the loss, the Bronco's record stands at 9-17 heading into a busy weekend.
After a slow first frame, the Broncos found themselves trailing 1-0 heading into the second period. Aggie utility player Conor Duigman would give UC Davis a 2-0 lead before Chris Parolin put the Broncos on the board with 4:25 remaining in the half. The Aggies scored twice before the period was through to give them a 4-1 lead going into halftime.
The Santa Clara offense would take over in the third period as the Broncos scored six times in the frame. Patrick Noack and Danny Soares each scored in the first two minutes of the quarter to cut the Aggie lead to one goal. After Duigman added another to put Davis ahead 5-3, Santa Clara rattled off two straight goals to even the match. Kenny Flanagan-De La Hoz scored on a counterattack before Thomas Kelly posted the fifth Bronco goal. Aggie David Welch regained the lead for Davis with 2:09 left in the period. However, Soares was not through as he added his second and third goals of the period to give the Broncos a 7-6 lead heading into the final quarter.
Davis driver Patrick Jacobson tied the score again at 7-7 only 40 seconds into the fourth quarter. It looked as if the teams would head to overtime as the score remained knotted until Jacobson once again found the back of the net with 27 seconds left to give the Aggies the win.
Prior to the match, Santa Clara honored its four seniors, Kenny Flanagan-De La Hoz, Mark Perlite, Mark Oda, and Peter Moore, who each played in the final home matches of their careers on Friday.
The Broncos will face two nationally ranked opponents over the weekend as they remain in the Bay Area. On Saturday, SCU will take on ninth-ranked Long Beach State in a 2:30 p.m. match in Santa Cruz before facing fourth-ranked California on Sunday in a 9:00 a.m. meeting in Berkeley.
