TOURNAMENT SCOREBOARD/RESULTS
SANTA CLARA, Calif. - The 16th-ranked Santa Clara men's water polo team hosts its annual Rodeo Tournament Friday through Sunday, Oct. 23-25 at the Sullivan Aquatic Center. This year's edition features 10 teams and 18 games, beginning Friday afternoon at 4:30 p.m.
The homestand officially begins when Santa Clara plays host to WWPA conference opponent Cal Baptist (12-8; 1-2 WWPA) Thursday at 6 p.m. Last year, SCU claimed a 9-8 win over Cal Baptist on the road, led by multi-goal games from Evan Chang and Will Grant.
The Rodeo is a return home for Santa Clara (5-14; 0-1 WWPA), who has played just one of their 19 games thus far in their home pool. The Broncos are coming off the SoCal Invitational in Los Angeles two weeks ago and a hard-fought league opener at No. 10 UC Davis on Saturday.
"We really hosting enjoy the Rodeo," said Santa Clara head coach Keith Wilbur. "It's a lot of fun to play teams from the East Coast that we normally do not see. Usually the teams are evenly matched, so all the games are pretty close and well contested."
The SCU offense put up 10 goals on the road against Davis and 13 in a win over LMU at SoCals. Entering the week, sophomore lefty and Bellarmine College Prep grad John Raineri leads the Broncos with 23 goals. Freshman Owen Asalone has scored 22 and classmate Julian Fraser 21.
"We are playing better on offense, both in the half court and power play opportunities," said Wilbur, commenting on his team's play heading into the week. "When everything is clicking, our offense can be very good. Improving on defense is going to be key for us winning close games."
Wilbur has used both senior Joe Maestri (12 starts) and junior Troy Nadel (6 starts) in goal. Chang has drawn a team-high 32 kickouts from his two-meter position. Grant has drawn 28 while freshman Reilley May has 24 along with 12 steals. Graham McClone (pictured) leads the team with 27 steals.
This weekend at the Rodeo, the Broncos will face some of the best from the East Coast in No. 10 Brown, No. 18 St. Francis (NY), No. 13 Bucknell and Harvard. Sixteen of SCU's 19 games this year have been against NCAA nationally-ranked teams.
The 2015 Rodeo Tournament (Friday-Sunday, Oct. 23-25)
Sullivan Aquatic Center (Santa Clara, Calif.)
**Santa Clara plays a WWPA game v. Cal Baptist Thursday, Oct. 22 at 6:00 p.m.
| Friday, Oct. 23 | ||
| 4:30 p.m. | Cal Baptist v. #18 St. Francis | |
| 6:00 p.m. | #16 Santa Clara v. #10t Brown | |
| 7:30 p.m. | San Jose State v. Harvard | |
| Saturday, Oct. 24 | ||
| 8:00 a.m. | Cal Baptist v. #13 Bucknell | |
| 9:20 a.m. | #10t UC Davis v. #10t Brown | |
| 10:40 a.m. | #16 Santa Clara v. Harvard | |
| 12:00 p.m. | Fresno Pacific v. #18 St. Francis | |
| 1:20 p.m. | UC Davis v. #13 Bucknell | |
| 2:40 p.m. | Cal Baptist v. #10t Brown | |
| 4:00 p.m. | Santa Clara v. #18 St. Francis | |
| 5:20 p.m. | Fresno Pacific v. Harvard | |
| Sunday, Oct. 25 | ||
| 8:00 a.m. | #18 St. Francis v. #10t UC Davis | |
| 9:20 a.m. | #14 Air Force v. Harvard | |
| 10:40 a.m. | Fresno Pacific v. #10t Brown | |
| 12:00 p.m. | #16 Santa Clara v. #13 Bucknell | |
| 1:20 p.m. | #10T UC Davis v. Harvard | |
| 2:40 p.m. | #14 Air Force v. #10t Brown | |
| 4:00 p.m. | Fresno Pacific v. #13 Bucknell |
