The No. 11 Santa Clara men's water polo team dropped a home match against WWPA-rival No. 9 Loyola Marymount, 11-5, this afternoon at Sullivan Aquatic Center. The loss was the Broncos third straight against a top-10 team.
The Lions won the first two quarters by the same score, 3-2, to give them a 6-4 lead at halftime. Santa Clara remained within striking distance of pulling off an upset in the third, but LMU took a three-goal lead into the fourth quarter and doubled it while shutting out the Broncos in the final quarter to win the game 11-5.
Senior Nick Poggetti led Santa Clara's attack with three goals. Juniors Daley Meistrell and Marcus Akerland also added a goal. Junior goalie Michael Wishart made six stops in the cage.
Two games remain on the regular-season schedule before the 17-12 Broncos host the 2010 WWPA Championships from Nov. 19-21. Santa Clara will play top-ranked California on Thursday, Nov. 11 at 6 p.m. and No. 13 UC Davis, Saturday, Nov. 13 at 1 p.m.