March 2, 2009
SANTA CLARA, Calif. -- Coming off a, 3-1, weekend at the Slugfest Tournament at UC Santa Cruz, the Santa Clara women's water polo team heads to Davis, Calif. to participate in UC Davis' Aggie Shootout on Sunday, March 8. The Broncos, 8-8 overall, 4-1 WWPA, will take on conference rival No. 17 California State Bakersfield at 10:30 a.m. and hosts No. 11 UC Davis at 4:30 p.m.
"Both games are big for us," said head coach Keith Wilbur. "After coming off of a solid weekend at the Slugfest, we are looking forward to a strong weekend of competition with a healthier roster."
Last Time Out
The Broncos enter this weekend after a successful, 3-1, showing at the Slugfest Tournament at UC Santa Cruz. On Saturday, Feb. 28, Santa Clara went, 3-0, versus CSU Monterey Bay, Pacific and hosts UCSC. On Sunday, SCU suffered their lone loss on the weekend to then No. 19 Indiana.
In their 11-6 win over CSUMB, six different Broncos got in on the scoring game. SCU was led by junior Meg Zimmerman, who posted a game-high four goals and senior Amy Lamb posted two goals and a steal in the contest. Sophomore goalie Wren White tallied five blocks and four steals in her comeback game in the cage. The Los Gatos, Calif. native missed the last four games with a broken finger.
Santa Clara then took on University of Pacific for the third time this season in Santa Cruz. After being edged by the Tigers, 5-3, prior to coming to the Slugfest, the Broncos were able to bounce back and post an, 8-6, victory. SCU is now, 2-1, this season versus UOP. Senior Claire Linney led the Santa Clara offense with two goals and two kick outs. She also posted two steals in the game. Zimmerman tallied three kick outs, a goal and a steal, and Taylor Harkins had two steals, a goal, an assist and a kick out.
Against tournament host UC Santa Cruz, the Broncos soundly defeated the WWPA foe, 8-2, to conclude day one of play. In the cage, White posted nine blocks, including a 5-meter penalty shot. Both Linney and Zimmerman tallied 5-meter penalties and a kick out apiece. Linney also posted a game-high four goals and redshirt sophomore Rochelle Stowe tallied an assist, a steal and a kick out.
Santa Clara's lone loss to No. 19 Indiana, 7-5, snapped the Broncos' three-game winning streak. SCU managed to remain in the game, tying it every time the Hoosiers took the lead, until late in the fourth quarter. As the clock wound down in the final period of play and the score tied at five-all, IU took control of the game. Back-to-back goals by Indiana edged Santa Clara from posting a perfect, 4-0, record on the weekend. Amy Lamb scored twice and had two steals, while her sister, Allie had two assists and a steal. In the cage, White had another strong performance with six blocks.
Scouting No. 17 CSU Bakersfield
The No. 17 Roadrunners of Bakersfield, 9-4 overall, 3-0 WWPA, enter this weekends contest after two weeks away from play. In their last time out, CSUB went, 3-1, at their own Roadrunner Invitational from Feb. 14-15. The Central California team is led by Amanda Ortiz, who has 34 goals, 13 steals, 11 assists and seven blocks in 13 games. Goalie Veronica Campbell posts a goals against average of 8.68 in 10.25 games played. She has 101 saves and 89 blocks.
This will be the second time the Broncos will square off with CSUB this season. In their first meeting, at the Triton Tournament on Feb. 8, the Roadrunners got the best of Santa Clara with a, 9-5, victory. The shorthanded Broncos played without goalie Wren White and with several players injured. Junior Kathryn Fraser stepped up to cage duties and posted seven blocks, two steals and an assist. Allie Lamb, Laura Espinosa, Maria Jarrell, Jade Look and Rochelle Stowe each had a goal in the game.
"Bakersfield is a team we have lost to already this season and are a strong rival," said Wilbur. "They are one of the top teams in the conference and this is a big game because it will probably be the last time we see them before the WWPA's."
Scouting No. 11 Davis
The eleventh ranked Davis Aggies, 11-5 overall, have not played since Feb. 22, at the UC Irvine Invitational. UCD finished in 11th place, after winning two of their four games at Irvine. Dakotah Mohr leads the Aggie offense with 20 goals and Lindsay Kiyama is Davis' assist leader with 16 in 12 games. In the cage, Casey Hines has an 8.3 goals against average. She's tallied 79 blocks in 12 games played and has allowed 72 goals, averaging 9.1 blocks per game.
"We've always been very competitive when facing Davis, as we consider them a rival," Wilbur said. "They are a strong, top-ranked team that is rested from a bye week. We are looking forward to a good game against them."
This will be the first of two meetings between SCU and UCD this season. They will play each other again on Friday, April 17, at the Sullivan Aquatic Center. Game time is set for 5:30 p.m.
