BERKELEY, Calif. - The No. 13 Santa Clara men's water polo team fell in its season opener this afternoon to top-ranked California, 14-5, at the Spieker Aquatics Center on the Golden Bears' campus.
The Broncos hung with the preseason favorites throughout the first half, only trailing 6-3 at half, but Cal exploded for five unanswered goals in the third quarter, effectively giving them control of the game.
Santa Clara got goals from five different players, including freshman Tucker Carlson's first collegiate tally.
Junior goalie Michael Wishart made 12 saves before being relieved by sophomore John Nash, who made one stop.
The Broncos will travel to New Jersey next weekend for the Princeton Invitational, kicking off the tournament with a nationally-televised game on Friday, Sept. 10 at 6 p.m. ET against host Princeton (ESPNU).
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | F |
| No. 13 Santa Clara | 2 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 5 |
| No. 1 California | 4 | 2 | 5 | 3 | 14 |
Santa Clara Goals: Brett
Zylstra, Patrick
Weiss, Stephen
Hobbs, Nick
Poggetti, Tucker Carlson
Cal Goals: Cory Nasoff 3, Matt Golden 2, Zach
White 2, Matt Bergeson 2, Ivan Rackov, Brian Dudley, Charlie
Steffens, Giacomo Cupido, Luka Saponjic
Santa Clara Goalie Saves: Michael Wishart 12, John
Nash 1
Cal Goalie Saves: Wil Toppen 4, Justin Parsons 4
