Men’s Water Polo Splits on Saturday at the Aggie Roundup

Posted: Sep 16, 2017

DAVIS, Calif. – Santa Clara men's water polo earned a split on Saturday, the opening day of the Aggie Roundup. The Broncos used a strong second quarter to knock off Whittier, 13-8, in the opener before falling to Redlands, 10-9, in overtime in the evening session of the two-day, 11-team event at UC Davis.

GAME 1: Broncos Pull Away from Whittier in Opening Game of Aggie Roundup

John Raineri and Shane Hughes each scored three goals, leading a balanced offensive attack for Santa Clara, which downed Whittier, 13-8, on Saturday morning in the team's first game of the Aggie Roundup at the Woodlands Community Center.

Reilley May had two goals for the Broncos (4-3) who scored five times with the man advantage and had eight players hit the back of the net in claiming their third-straight win.

Santa Clara pulled away from the Poets (1-4) in the second quarter when it tallied five goals in a stretch of seven in a row.

In the final four minutes before halftime, Ryan Werner and Dane Estrella each scored on the power play, and Patrick Kirk added an even strength strike to increase the lead to 9-3.

Hughes began the goal run late in the opening quarter with a marker that broke a 3-all tie.

Goalkeeper Emil Huebner made seven saves for the Broncos who face the Redlands at 4:30 p.m. Saturday at Schaal Aquatics Center.

GAME 2: Santa Clara Rallies to Tie Late in Regulation, Falls in Overtime

After holding an early lead, Santa Clara rallied to tie Redlands at the end of regulation before falling 10-9 in overtime during Saturday evening action at the Aggie Roundup, which was held at Schaal Aquatics Center.

DeMarco Orella scored a team-high three times and Mac Carey added two goals and two assists for the Broncos.

Max Taylor tallied a game-high four goals for the Bulldogs (2-6), including the game-winner with eight seconds left in the second overtime.

Carey fired one final attempt just before time ended but Redlands goalie Chris Martinez got a piece of the ball, knocking it left of the cage.

Emil Huebner turned aside a career-best 15 shots for Santa Clara, which was just 2 of 8 with the man advantage.

The Bulldogs were less effective with the extra attacker, scoring on just one of seven attempts.

They did erase a 5-3 halftime deficit by scoring five of the next six goals before the Broncos rallied with two markers in the final four minutes of regulation.

Carey scored on a 5-meter attempt and Orella scored on even strength with 1:25 on the clock to knot the game at 8-all.

Taylor scored in the first overtime and Carey matched that with a goal in the second extra session.

The Broncos had their three-game winning streak snapped.

NEXT UP
The tournament concludes Sunday. The Broncos face San Jose State at 9 a.m. and No. 2 USC at noon. Both of those games will take place at Schaal Aquatics Center.