Rodeo Tournament Schedule/Results
SANTA CLARA, Calif. – After winning both games during Saturday's action at the annual Rodeo Tournament, Santa Clara men's water polo split a pair Sunday, falling to Harvard, 12-7, in morning action and defeating Navy, 18-12, in the afternoon in the final contest of three-day event.
Sam Toriggino scored a career-high three times and Graham McClone tallied all four of his goals against Navy in the second quarter when the Broncos (9-11) began to put their imprint on the game, one of seven on the day at Sullivan Aquatic Center.
With Santa Clara leading 6-4, McClone, who also had three assists, scored three straight goals in a 1:44 span and then another in the final minute of the quarter though Navy (6-13) rallied to score two in the final 32 seconds to close the gap to 11-6 at the half.
However, Toriggino scored 43 seconds into the third to start a run of six of seven goals by the Broncos who were 3-for-8 with the man advantage.
In the opening game of the day, the Broncos were unable to solve Harvard's one-two-punch of Nick Bunn and Colin Chiapello who powered the offense with four goals apiece.
Jack Larkin had a goal and two assists against the Crimson (18-5) and McClone was held scoreless for only the fourth game this season, but tallied a pair of assists. No Santa Clara player was able to tally multiple goals against Harvard.
The Crimson (18-5) took advantage of the power play by scoring on three of their six opportunities, including a pair early in the second quarter when they was able to separate themselves from the Broncos.
Bunn scored on an ejection to make it 4-1 with 7:25 left in the second quarter. Chiapello added a goal less than one minute later and Harry Tafur scored on the power play at 6:06 to give Harvard a six-goal lead.
A goal by Jake Rendina with 16 seconds left in the third quarter cut the Harvard lead to 10-5, but Chiapello answered 12 seconds later.
Santa Clara freshman goaltender Patrick Collins was thrust into the starting lineup Friday due to injury and posted a career-best 11 saves against Navy. He started all five games in the tournament.
The four-day, 15-team tourney began Friday and concluded Sunday, though Santa Clara will play host to George Washington at 6 p.m. Monday.
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Eight schools made the trip from the East Coast and six Western Water Polo Association (WWPA) teams were in the field,
"It's been a real good tournament and it was great to see all the support we had from our fans and those from the other schools," Santa Clara head coach Keith Wilbur said. "It's fun to see a lot of different teams this part of the season."
San Jose State aided the Broncos as tournament host, holding 12 games over the course of Saturday and Sunday at West Valley College in nearby Saratoga.
"We had some up and downs," Wilbur said. "We did some good things and saw some things to work on, but that's the whole point of playing in this last big tournament of the year. There were some situations where we could work some guys in. This is the tuneup before hitting the final stretch of conference season."
The Broncos lost to Brown, 13-7, Friday, but knocked off both Wagner (14-7) and Johns Hopkins (15-10) Saturday.
"The guys played with a lot of energy and bounced back from a couple tough games," Wilbur said. "Overall, it was a good weekend."
Tickets: Single-game tickets are available for $5. Click here to purchase online or contact the ticket office weekdays between 8:30 a.m. and 5 p.m. at (408) 554-4660 or BroncoTickets@scu.edu. Sullivan Aquatic Center, as well as its ticket office, is open one hour prior to the start of the game. Only cash is accepted at Sullivan Aquatic Center.
Parking: For weekday games, the Leavey Center lot, located on Accolti Way off El Camino Real, is free beginning one hour prior to the start. Any other parking facility on campus will be subject to normal daily rates or restrictions, including the main structure, located on Palm Drive. During the weekend, campus parking facilities are free (except for permit required locations). Click here for a campus map and parking restrictions.
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