BERKELEY, Calif. – After winning its second game Saturday at the Mountain Pacific Invitational, Santa Clara men's water polo was unable to keep the momentum going in Sunday's finale against a top-10 ranked team.
The Broncos (5-7) lost to No. 8 UC Irvine, 10-6, behind a game-high three goals Bryant Joudrie, one of four multiple scorers for the Anteaters (7-5) at the three-day, 16-team tournament being held in Berkeley, California.
Six different players scored for Santa Clara, which led in the first half of a game played at Northgate High School.
Graham McClone's goal with 6:23 left in the second quarter gave the Broncos a 2-1 lead, but the Anteaters closed the opening half with a flurry.
Goals by Jon Polos and Ian Fleenor less than a minute apart midway through the second quarter gave IC Irvine a 4-2 lead. Fleenor's exclusion goal with 11 seconds left in the half increased the margin to 5-2.
The 19th-ranked Broncos never got closer than three goals the rest of the way. They also got goals from Sam Toriggino, Dylan Fara, Ryan Werner, Jake Rendina and Shane Hughes.
Hughes had a pair of assists while Reilley May and Will Grant each drew a pair of kickouts, but the Broncos went 0-for-7 with the man advantage. The Anteaters cashed in on two of their six exclusion opportunities.
Keaton Fox had 11 saves for the Broncos, who ended a stretch of 11 games away from home.
Santa Clara lost Saturday's opener to No. 11 UC Davis and then knocked off Whittier in its second game of the day of the tournament with Cal serving as the host school.
Santa Clara faces UC Davis Saturday in a Western Water Polo Association (WWPA) game. The teams will face off at noon in Sullivan Aquatic Center.