SANTA CLARA, Calif. – The Santa Clara men’s water polo team honored Evan Chang and Joe Maestri as part of ‘Senior Day’ on Saturday. Their last game of the regular season was a fourth matchup with cross-town rival San Jose State. Some clutch play for SCU earned the Broncos and their seniors a 10-9 win.

Chang has secured his place in Santa Clara water polo history. The two-meter player is the program's all-time leader in earned ejections (184). The two-year starter had 41 as a freshman in 2012 and went on to a stellar career that included accolades as a Western Water Polo Association (WWPA) All-Conference honoree. Not only has Chang excelled athletically, he has been named to the WWPA All-Academic Team in each of his three collegiate seasons to-date.

Maestri earned prep All-America honors starring at nearby Bellarmine College Prep. Maestri is a fifth-year senior who has assumed the starting goalkeeping duties, saving 199 shots this season, during what has been arguably the most challenging schedule in program history.

Santa Clara jumped out to a 4-1 lead over the Spartans on Saturday, but San Jose State rallied late in the second quarter to cut the Bronco lead to 5-4 entering halftime. The two teams alternated goals in the third, each scoring three to make it 8-7 in favor of the Broncos entering the final period.

San Jose State scored back-to-back goals in the fourth to take a 9-8 lead. SCU came up clutch in the closing minutes. Owen Asalone buried the tying goal with one minute left. The Broncos then came up with a huge power play stop to preserve the tie.

Off of a timeout, Julian Fraser put away the go-ahead goal to give Santa Clara a 10-9 lead with 13 seconds left. The Spartans got a good look on their following possession, but a clutch tip from John Raineri would send the shot out of bounds and secure Santa Clara the 10-9 win on Senior Day.

In their final regular season contests as Broncos, Joe Maestri had 10 saves and two steals while Evan Chang earned four more ejections and two field blocks. In addition to his clutch field block, Raineri also had one goal, five assists, and four steals.

“I couldn’t be happier to play with the group of guys that I have,” said senior captain Evan Chang. “Playing under the leaders before me was so important in helping me step up and lead this fall. In terms of the record, it wasn’t possible without everybody else.”

The Broncos will travel to Colorado Springs, Colorado, next weekend for the WWPA Championship at Air Force. Sixth-seeded Santa Clara will play No. 3 seed San Diego Friday at 2:15 p.m. Pacific. The three-day tournament continues until Sunday.

#17 Santa Clara 10, San Jose State 9

Goals: Graham McClone (2), Owen Asalone (2), Matt Godar (2), Julian Fraser (1), John Raineri (1), Will Grant (1), Sam Toriggino (1)
Saves: Joe Maestri (10)