SANTA CLARA, Calif. – At the GCC Championship, the No. 6 seed Bronco women's water polo team finished with the fifth place win, finishing the weekend with a 2-1 record. The Broncos fell to the No. 2 seed, LMU, in their first game, but bounced back and won their next two games to claim the fifth place title. The Broncos ended the season with an overall record of 16-14.
LMU 13, Santa Clara 10
On Thursday, the Broncos played LMU. The Lions earned a penalty shot right off the bat, giving them the 1-0 lead. Ashleigh Bandimere found the back of the net to tie the game at one all. The Lions second goal came on a power play, but the Broncos earned a penalty goal that was taken and converted by Julia Peters to keep the game tied, 2-2. Off an earned ejection, Elizabeth Anderson put in the goal-ahead goal to give the Broncos the lead, 3-4. The Lions put in two more goals, but one more goal by Keri Clifford kept the game tied 4-4 at the end of the first quarter.
Off an earned ejection, Anderson gave the Broncos the lead, 5-4. The Lions followed suit, retying the game five all. With goals by Anderson and Elle Surber, the Broncos finished out the quarter with the 7-5 lead.
The Lions came out of halftime ready to play and went on a six-goal run to take the 11-7 lead. The Lion defense kept the Broncos scoreless until the final second of the quarter when Cathy Cantoni fired a goal into the back of the net, making it 11-8 Lions advantage going into the fourth quarter.
To start the fourth quarter, the Lions went on another two-goal run and locked in the win. Anderson and Erin Sheridan each had one more goal, but the Lions finished out the game with the 13-10 win to advance on to the semi-finals.
Santa Clara 14 Fresno Pacific 8
The Broncos then played the Sunbirds for a bid into the fifth place game. Off a penalty shot, Peters put in the first goal of the game for the Broncos. Surber followed up with a goal, giving the Broncos a two-goal lead. Off an earned ejection, the Sunbirds were able to put in their first goal of the game, 2-1. Bandimere scored a goal, maintaining a two-goal lead for the Broncos.
Anchored by goalie Sydni Estrella, who recorded 17 saves this game, the Broncos kept the Sunbirds scoreless in the second quarter. Anderson, Surber and Bandimere each scored their second goal of the game and gave the Broncos the 6-1 advantage.
Surber put in one more goal to start the third quarter, but then the Sunbirds broke their silence and went on a two-goal run, 7-3 Broncos. Off an earned ejection, Bandimere put in her third goal of the game. Cantoni, Anderson and Clifford kept the lead going for the Broncos, each putting in a goal to make it 11-4 going into the fourth quarter.
Surber found the back of the net twice in the beginning of the fourth, 13-4 Broncos. The Sunbirds scored three more goals, but Liliana King-Adas put in a final goal for the Broncos and gave the team the 14-8 win to move on to the fifth place game.
In their final game of the season, the Broncos faced off with the Cougars. Both teams battled hard in the first quarter. The Cougars scored the only goal of the quarter off an earned ejection.
Peters tied the game 1-1 off an earned ejection and Surber followed up with a goal to take the 2-1 lead. The Cougars tied the game up two more times, but with goals by Anderson and Lauren Radich the Broncos took the 4-3 lead going into half and pulled away with the game.
Off an earned ejection, Anderson gave the Broncos a two-goal lead. Surber followed up with another goal to make it 6-3. The Cougars scored three goals, but with a goal by Anderson and Cantoni, the Broncos went into the final quarter with the 8-6 lead.
Peters found the back of the net twice in the fourth quarter. Surber put in her third and final goal of the game and the Broncos finished out the GCC Championship in fifth place with an 11-8 win over the Cougars.
