March 5, 2005

DAVIS, Calif. - The Santa Clara women's water polo team dropped an 11-7 decision to 14th-ranked UC Davis on Saturday afternoon in Davis, Calif. With the loss, Santa Clara falls to 10-8 on the season.

"Its was very good to see we could get our offense going against a good team today," said head coach Keith Wilbur. "I know we can play a better defensive game, but this is something to build off.

UC Davis scored first when Nicole Lorrimer set up Jessica Soza at the 4:35 mark in the first quarter. However, the Broncos answered less than a minute later with a goal by Alanna Simpkins. That proved to be the pattern in the early stages of the game: Santa Clara answered each Aggie goal on its next possession, holding a 3-3 tie with 5:28 remaining in the second.

The Aggies scored the next three goals, taking a 6-3 lead into halftime. Katie Radvanyi scored the second of her four total goals early in the third quarter to cut the Aggie margin to two, but the hosts responded with a goal by freshman Christi Raycraft and four-meter penalty conversion by Stephanopoulos to claim a 8-4 advantage after three periods.

Radvanyi scored two goals in a 25-second span during the fourth quarter, helping the Broncos approach within a three-goal deficit. However, UC Davis added one more goal late in the match to take the 11-7 victory.

Radvanyi led all scorers with four on the day and also drew two ejections. Simpkins, Emily Bonk and Catherine Flynn all found the back of the net for the Broncos. In the cage, Kristin Barnes recorded four blocks.

The Broncos will return to Leavey Pool next Saturday when they host their annual alummni match. Game time is set for 1 p.m.