Men's Water Polo Completes Successful Trip East

Posted: Sep 05, 2021

PROVIDENCE, R.I. - Santa Clara men's water polo capped off its season-opening tournament with two more wins on Sunday.

The Broncos (4-0) edged Fordham, 6-5, and closed out play at the Bruno Classic with a convincing 20-7 triumph over Gannon.

Santa Clara won all four games at the two-day event that was held at Brown. The Broncos knocked off the host Bears and Wagner on Saturday.

GAME ONE: Santa Clara 6, Fordham 5

Ford Eldredge and Matt Peterson each scored twice and Zach Fales scored the game-winner in the final minute to lift the Broncos to the 6-5 win over Fordham.

The Rams (3-1) erased a three-goal deficit in the second half with Hans Zdolsek's strike with 4:24 remaining in the fourth knotting the score at 5-all.

But the Broncos took advantage of an Fordham exclusion with 27 seconds left. Fales powered home the go-ahead goal just 11 seconds later.

Santa Clara allowed a goal less than two minutes into the game and then not another one until the opening 60 seconds of the second half. In between, it built a 4-1 halftime lead.

Fordham had a chance to forge ahead down the stretch, earning a power play with 1:22 remaining in the game but Chase Zamborelli turned aside a shot against the extra attacker. The teams then traded turnovers to set up the final sequence.

The Rams were unable to get a shot on net in their final possession as Peterson blocked the final attempt with 2 seconds on the clock.

GAME TWO: Santa Clara 20, Gannon 7

Santa Clara took control in the second quarter and then pulled away in the third to post a 20-7 victory over Gannon.

Jake Taylor and Chase Raisin each had four goals, and Mason Jaeger and Cody Ferguson scored three times apiece for the Broncos.

Taylor also contributed three assists and three steals, and Blake D'Souza set up three goals.

The Broncos scored five times in the final 4 minutes of the second quarter to build a 10-5 halftime lead.

Raisin (two) and Taylor combined to score three goals in the opening 2 minutes of the third period and Santa Clara cruised from there against the Golden Knights (1-3).

NOTES

Matt Peterson, Jake Taylor, Blake D'Souza, Chase Raisin, Dominick Kirk and Cody Ferguson started both games. Chase Zamborelli had the start against Fordham and registered 15 blocks. Sean Tehaney was between the pipes against Gannon and turned aside 13 shots on goal.
Zamborelli's block total against Fordham was one shy of his career high, set against Princeton (Oct. 27, 2019).
Taylor (four), Raisin (four) and Mason Jaeger (three) set new career highs in goals in the Gannon game.
Zach Fales tallied a team-best nine goals in the four games at the tournament. Ford Eldredge was second with eight. Ferguson had seven and Raisin tallied six.
Taylor led the team with nine assists in the four contests. D'Souza, Fales and Dominick Kirk each had six.

QUOTABLE

This morning's game was a solid win with a real emphasis on defense. We talked about the importance of defense after yesterday's games, and it was key to both wins today. In the last game against Gannon, I was also really impressed with our team's energy. It can be hard in the fourth game in two days but the guys were up to the challenge. They were very solid on defense and they really pushed our counterattack.
- Head coach Keith Wilbur