Sept. 12, 2009
PRINCETON, N.J. -The No. 16 Santa Clara men's water polo team picked up two wins today, improving to 3-0 on the season after the second day of competition at the Princeton Invitational. The Broncos downed Fordham 13-8 early in the day, before pulling off the biggest win for the program in the last two years by defeating No. 11 Princeton 7-6.
The victory over the Tigers is the best win for the Santa Clara men since they defeated conference rival, and then-ranked No. 10 , Loyola Marymount in overtime in 2007.
The Broncos jumped out to a 1-0 lead over Princeton in the first quarter, and matched goal-for-goal with the Tigers over the next two periods.
In the fourth quarter, the game was tied 6-6 with 20 seconds to go. Head Coach Keith Wilbur called time-out and arranged a play for the ball to end up in junior Nick Poggetti's hands. The play was successful, as Poggetti got the ball right in front of the cage, sticking it in for the win with just 6.7 seconds left on the clock.
Sophomore goalkeeper Michael Wishart was solid in the cage for the Broncos, earning 13 saves and stopping two penalty shots, one in the closing seconds of the game right before Poggetti's winner.
"Wishart played phenomenal," said Wilbur. "He really played a major role for us and was great all night. It was a huge game for him."
"It was a great win for us in front of a great crowd in Princeton's pool," said Wilbur. "The game was on TV too so that was fun for the guys and it was really a great environment to play in."
Senior Jack Wall led the offense with four goals, giving him 10 total for the season, while senior Liam Farrell, Poggetti, and freshman Patrick Weiss each had one tally.
Against Fordham, the Broncos took a four goal lead in the first quarter and doubled it heading into the second half. The Rams improved, scoring six goals in the second half, but Santa Clara earned three more points to make the final score 13-8.
Farrell was the high scorer against Fordham, notching three, while Wall earned two. Seven others all added one goal each. The Broncos will play two more games on the Ivy League campus, taking on Harvard at 9:15 a.m. ET, and George Washington at 4:45.
| Period | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | F |
| Fordham | 2 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 8 |
| No. 16 Santa Clara | 6 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 13 |
Fordham Goals: Edwards 2, Munoz 3, Arat 2, Barron
Santa Clara Goals: Farrell 3, Meistrell 1, Soares 1, Case 1, Weiss 1, Welch 1, Penner 1, Wall 2, Hobbs 1
| Period | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | F |
| No. 11 Princeton | 0 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 6 |
| No. 16 Santa Clara | 1 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 7 |
Princeton Goals: Wigley 2, Zalewski 2, Hudnall 1, Parolin 1
Santa Clara Goals: Wall 4, Farrell 1, Poggetti 1, Weiss 1
Princeton Saves: Merlone 12
Santa Clara Saves: Wishart 13
Princeton 6 on 5: 0-9
Santa Clara 6 on 5: 3-8
Princeton 5-meter: 0-2
Santa Clara 5-meter: 0-0
