Oct. 24, 2009
SANTA CLARA, Calif. - The No. 16 Santa Clara men’s water polo team earned two victories today at the Sullivan Aquatic Center, taking down Cal Baptist and St. Francis (NY) in The Rodeo tournament.
In the morning game, the Broncos defeated Cal Baptist 11-6 fueled by senior Liam Farrell and junior Nick Poggetti’s three-goal performances.
Santa Clara took a 6-2 lead at half, and increased it to 8-3 going into the final quarter. Sophomore James Case also had two goals in the match and juniors Mitch Klipa, Josh Luebke and Mark Soares each had one.
Sophomore goalie Michael Wishart turned in a 14-save effort to preserve the win.
The afternoon’s game against St. Francis was much closer. The Terriers took the 1-0 lead to start the game despite Case winning the opening sprint.
The Broncos evened things rather quickly on their first power play of the game when Liam Farrell found the back of the cage. Senior Jack Wall then took advantage of slack coverage by St. Francis and scored two wide open goals, ending the first quarter at three-all.
Santa Clara took the lead at half by outscoring the Terriers 3-2, even though Wall couldn’t convert on a five-meter shot earned by Case. Soares got on the scoresheet in the second quarter, sparking the team with a laser into the upper corner of the cage with five seconds left on the shot clock.
After the half, Wall scored on the Broncos first possession after being left wide open yet again. Santa Clara took a four-goal lead at 9-5, but St. Francis cut it down to two to tighten the game at 9-7.
Junior Stephen Hobbs answered right back for the Broncos, stuffing it into the cage from just a few meters out, and from then on the Terriers wouldn’t catch Santa Clara. Senior Mike Sorgenfrei chipped in two goals, junior Nick Poggetti had three, and Farrell finished with two while Jack Wall exploded for seven total goals in the match.
The Broncos, now 12-6-0, play twice tomorrow, squaring off with Brown at 10:40 a.m. and Air Force at 2:40 p.m.
| Period | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | F |
| Cal Baptist | 2 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 6 |
| No. 16 Santa Clara | 3 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 11 |
Cal Baptist Goal Scorers: Hunter 2, Gwinn, Steiger, Troutman, Falconieri
SCU Goal Scorers: Farrell 3, Poggetti 3, Case 2, Luebke, Klipa, Soares
Goalie Saves: Gagnon (CB) 11 ; Wishart (SCU) 14
| Period | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | F |
| St. Francis (NY) | 3 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 11 |
| No. 16 Santa Clara | 3 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 15 |
St. Francis (NY) Goal Scorers: Sasic 3, #16 3, Gencic 2, Simonovic, Pantic, Polgar
SCU Scorers: Wall 7, Poggetti 3, Farrell 2, Sorgenfrei, Soares, Hobbs
Goalie Saves: Djuric (SF) ; Wishart (SCU)
