SANTA CLARA, Calif.- The No. 19 Bronco women's water polo faced conference rival No. 20 San Diego State on April 11 and traveled to Sonoma State on their senior day on April 12. The Broncos fell in a close game to the Aztecs but were able to defeat the Seawolves. The Broncos are now 14-11 heading into their final games of the season.
The Broncos started off the game against conference foe San Diego State Aztecs with a goal by Julia Peters for the early lead. The Aztecs responded with a goal to tie the game 1-1. Peters countered on the next play to regain the lead 2-1. The Broncos were unable to convert on multiple man-up opportunities, and the Aztecs ended the quarter with a two-goal run leading 3-2.
In the second quarter, June Afshar kept the Aztecs from scoring on several opportunities. The Broncos couldn't seem to put one in the net, despite an earned ejection by Claire Eadington and two by Elizabeth Anderson. The Aztecs eventually scored on a penalty shot for the only goal of the quarter. The first half ended with the Aztecs leading SCU 4-2.
Anderson and Peters began the third quarter for the Broncos by each putting in a goal, tying the game at 4-4. The Aztecs responded with a two-goal run. Ashleigh Bandimere ended the quarter with a goal, cutting the Bronco deficit to one, 6-5, heading into the fourth.
The fourth quarter started with a flurry of Bronco shots rejected by the crossbar and posts. The Aztecs opened up their lead with a goal on a breakaway. Eadington answered on the following play, but the Broncos still trailed 7-6. SCU kept the Aztecs scoreless before taking a timeout to set up the last play of the game. But the Broncos were unable to score and fell with a final score of 7-6.
On April 12, the Broncos traveled to Sonoma State to face off against the Seawolves. Elizabeth Anderson led the Broncos, scoring six goals and Surber netted four of her own. Eadington scored two goals and Ashley Letrich, Lauren Radich, Cathy Cantoni, Peters and Murphy each had one goal. The Broncos defeated the Seawolves 17-10.
The Seawolves hoped out to an early lead but the Broncos answered back and took the 3-2 lead. The Broncos continued their run with two more goals and ended the first quarter with a 5-2 lead.
After battling up and down the pool the Seawolves scored two goals, but the Broncos scored two of their own to maintain the 7-4 lead going into half.
In the third, the Broncos continued their run, scoring three more goals for a 10-4 advantage. The Seawolves gain traction and battled back in the second half of their period, scoring four goals to cut the Broncos lead to two goals. Two more Bronco goals before the end of the third quarter made it 12-8 heading into the final period.
The Broncos put in five more goals to top off the Seawolves in the fourth quarter. The Broncos left the pool with the 17-10 win over the Seawolves.