U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. – Two late goals by Mac Carey and a game-high five from Graham McClone helped propel Santa Clara men's water polo to a 14-12 road victory over Air Force Saturday in a Western Water Polo Association (WWPA) contest.
Will Grant and Shane Hughes scored twice for the Broncos (6-9, 2-1) who snapped a three-game skid.
Riley Thomas and Eric Curia tallied three goals apiece for the Falcons (4-12, 0-3) who dropped their third staight.
Carey's first goal snapped a 12-all tie with 3:23 left in the game. The lefty added an insurance marker on the power play less than a minute later.
Goalie Keaton Fox turned away all three Air Force shots in the final two minutes.
The teams combined for nine goals in both the first and third periods, but Carey's scores were the only ones in the fourth.
Trailing 8-7 at the half, even strength goals by Sam Toriggino and McClone within 22 seconds early in the third period gave the Broncos lead. The Falcons tied the game four more times, but were never able to regain the lead.
The Broncos scored on 3 of 10 attempts with the man advantage and the Falcons were 2-for-5.
Brett Fogelberg of Air Force scored on the lone 5-meter attempt of the game. That strike with 2:47 left in the third period tied the game at 12-all, but the Falcons missed their final seven shots.
Santa Clara, which had lost three straight to Air Force, led nearly the entire opening half. Curia's third goal tied the game at 7-all with 3:07 left in the second quarter and Riley Quinlan scored the go-ahead goal with 52 seconds left before the break.
The Broncos are back home Friday to begin play in the annual Rodeo Tournament, which features 15 teams playing 31 games at both Santa Clara and San Jose State.
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