April 4, 2009
Colorado State vs. Santa Clara Recap
SANTA CLARA, Calif. - After defeating conference rival Colorado State 8-5 in the morning, the Santa Clara women's water polo team snapped a three-game winning streak with an afternoon 14-8 loss to WWPA foe No. 10 Loyola Marymount. SCU (14-14, 7-3 WWPA) was led by the senior tandem of Amy Lamb and Claire Linney, who combined for three assists, two steals and a goal versus the Lions.
It was an uphill battle all game for the Broncos versus the tenth-ranked LMU team. Loyola Marymount went into halftime with an 8-0 lead over Santa Clara. After being shutdown offensively in the first and second periods, junior Meg Zimmerman scored the Broncos' first goal of the game twenty-seven second after the Lions got on the board for the ninth time. SCU then went on a 3-0 run after Zimmerman's goal, including spectacular goal by Linney. With a defender pressing her and the goal to her back, the Santa Cruz, Calif. native received the ball and twisted around in a quick swift motion to slam it into the upper left post. Freshman Marina Allen and sophomore Taylor Harkins also contributed goals in the SCU scoring spurt.
With 3:26 left in the third, Loyola Marymount tacked on their 11th goal, to advance their lead to 11-4. A motivated Santa Clara team responded with their fifth goal of the game from freshman Laura Espinosa to close out the third period and bring the game within six.
As the score closed in, LMU did not allow the fighting Bronco offense to make a second comeback of the day, as both teams scored three goals apiece in the final quarter. SCU's final goals came from Kendal Hildebrand, Jenny Knutson and Emily Thomas.
"I am happy with the way we fought hard throughout the game," said head coach Keith Wilbur. "After being down by eight at halftime, the team came back, played hard and did not give up at any point in the game."
Santa Clara returns dives back into action at day two of The Bronco on Sunday, April 5. They will take on CS San Bernardino at 9:20 a.m. and No. 18 UC San Diego at 2:40 p.m. Fans can follow all games from this weekend at The Bronco tournament central page.
Santa Clara 8, No. 10 Loyola Marymount 14
Goals: Allen - 1, Knutson - 1, Zimmerman - 1, Thomas - 1, Espinosa - 1, Hildebrand - 1, Linney - 1, Harkins - 1
Assists: Allen - 1, Am. Lamb - 2, Knutson - 1, Espinosa - 1, Miller - 1, Linney - 1, Harkins - 1
Steals: Am. Lamb - 2
Kick Outs Drawn: Al. Lamb - 1, Espinosa - 1, Linney - 2
Blocks: White - 7
