SANTA CLARA, Calif. – After a convincing 14-1 defeat of Golden Coast Conference (GCC) opponent Concordia Friday, the Santa Clara women's water polo team heads into the last week of the regular season with two league contests.
The Broncos (9-13, 2-3) will play at Fresno Pacific (9-14, 1-5) on Thursday at 7 p.m. and at home against No. 17 Pacific (13-16, 5-1) on Saturday at noon.
Santa Clara, which is receiving votes in this week's CWPA poll, sits at fifth place in the GCC standings only one-half game behind Loyola Marymount (3-3). Fresno Pacific is seventh and Pacific second. Wins by the Broncos could help secure the fourth seed for the GCC Championship.
"Fresno is a solid team and definitely tough to play on the road," head coach Keith Wilbur said. "They have a good home environment, so I think we have to be prepared for a good tough match."
The offense rebounded against Concordia after struggling to capitalize on opportunities against San Diego State and Cal Baptist. After scoring just eight goals in those two games combined, nine different Broncos found the back of the net on the way to a 14-1 win. Liliana King-Adas scored her first goals of the season in a hat trick.
"These are conference games and important for seeding but we are really more focused on just trying to play well the last couple games going into conference playoffs," Wilbur said.
The Broncos are led offensively by seniors Elle Surber and Elizabeth Anderson. Surber has 36 goals, 22 assists, and 37 earned ejections. Anderson has 29 goals, 43 earned ejections, and 12 earned penalty shots.
Senior goalkeeper Sydni Estrella has started each game since returning from injury and anchors the defense with 98 total blocks. Surber also contributes on the defensive end, tallying 24 steals and 10 field blocks.
Anderson, Estrella, Surber and Erin Sheridan will play their last home game Saturday against the Tigers who have won five of their last seven.
"They're a really good team, its our last home game, its our senior day – so there's a lot of big things going on that day," Wilbur said. "I think it will be a fun day in terms of celebrating our seniors but also at the same time we have a big game to prepare for."
After finishing out the regular season, the Broncos will play in the GCC Championship beginning Friday, April 29 at San Diego State.
Admission and Parking: Admission is $5 for each home game. Parking should be available in the Leavey Center lot (free on the weekend) or the main campus parking structure. Click here for a campus map and parking information.
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