Gary Troyer Tournament Central
Santa Clara men's water polo capped off play in the Gary Troyer Tournament on Saturday with a pair of wins.
The Broncos (9-5) knocked off Navy, 7-5, at and then McKendree by a 15-10 score.
Santa Clara went 3-1 in the two-day, 27-team tournament that was held at Pomona-Pitzer, Claremont-Mudd-Scripps, University of La Verne, and Occidental College.
GAME ONE: Santa Clara 7, Navy 5
Dominick Kirk had three goals, including two late in the third quarter, and Zach Fales tallied the game-winner in a 7-5 comeback win for Santa Clara over Navy, a contest played at Claremont-Mudd-Scripps.
Travis Berzins and Isaac Salinas each had two goals for the Midshipmen (6-8) who led nearly the entire way until early in the fourth quarter.
Trailing 4-2, Kirk scored twice in the final 1:14 of the third quarter and Blake D'Souza had the go-ahead goal 39 seconds into the fourth.
Salinas tied the score at 5-all on the ensuing possession, but Zales' strike on the power play with 5:25 left turned out to be the game-winner.
D'Souza added an insurance goal with the extra attacker with less than 2 minutes remaining.
GAME TWO: Santa Clara 15, McKendree 10
Jake Taylor had three goals and a career-high tying four assists, and Bennett Stafford scored twice and added a pair of assists for Santa Clara which led from start to finish in a 15-10 victory over McKendree in a game played at La Verne.
Chase Raisin and Zach Fales each had two goals for the Broncos who scored five of the first six goals of the game.
A goal by Taylor early in the third quarter increased the lead to 10-3, but McKendree (4-6) closed within 11-7 on a goal from Josh Carlson with 1 second left in the third.
However, Santa Clara answered with three goals in the opening two minutes of the fourth.
Uros Pelemis and Nico Rodriguez each had a pair of goals for the Bearcats.
NOTES
- Matt Peterson, Jake Taylor, Blake D'Souza, Chase Raisin, Dominick Kirk and Cody Ferguson started both games.
- Sean Tehaney went the distance in net against Navy. He was credited with 12 saves including a pair after Zales' go-ahead goal in the fourth quarter. Chase Zamborelli earned the win in goal against McKendree, posting 11 blocks and two assists.
- Santa Clara went 4-for-10 with the extra attacker against Navy, including 2 of 3 in the fourth.
- Jake Taylor had a career-high tying four assists and a career-best five steals against Navy.
NEXT UP
The Broncos played at Fresno Pacific on Wednesday in a matchup of Western Water Polo Association teams. Start time is 6 p.m.
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