18th-Ranked Men's Water Polo Drops A Pair of Contests

18th-Ranked Men's Water Polo Drops A Pair of Contests

Sept. 3, 2006

ANNAPOLIS, Md. - Two losses by a combined total of three goals on Sunday brought the No. 18 Santa Clara men's water polo team's weekend at the Navy Labor Day Open to a disappointing close. In the morning contest, the Broncos dropped a 13-11 decision to the George Washington Colonials before falling 9-8 in the afternoon contest for the second day in a row, this time to John Hopkins University.

The Broncos will now return home where they will host the annual Alumni Game Saturday at 12 p.m. at the Leavey Pool.

"It was a rough weekend, every game was tight but we just didn't do enough to win," said head coach Keith Wilbur. "We have to come back now, and we'll have some work to do. But it was a good opportunity for our guys to face some competition on the East Coast, and we'll be prepared when conference season comes around."

After falling behind 9-5 at the break against the Colonials, the 18th-ranked Broncos fought back, outscoring their opponents 5-1 in the third period to knot things up at 10-10 heading into the decisive quarter. After assuming an 11-10 lead with under three minutes to play, Santa Clara could not hold George Washington, as the Colonials rallied for three goals in the final two minutes to steal the victory.

Jack Wall scored five goals against the Colonials (4-0), while Luke Oda, Kevin Starry, and Charlie Moore each added a goal in the contest.

In the afternoon, facing the John Hopkins Blue Jays, Santa Clara (0-4) fell 9-8 for the second consecutive day to end the tournament. Wall scored a pair of goals in the loss, as did Moore, while Mike Detoy rattled the cage as well.

"Our record does not reflect how we played this weekend," Wilbur added. "I thought we played very well against the competition we faced."