April 27, 2007
SANTA CRUZ, Calif. - The Santa Clara women's water polo team took their first step toward the WWPA Championship Friday afternoon, defeating sixth seed Cal State San Bernardino by a score of 9-6 at UC Santa Cruz to advance to the semifinals of the WWPA Championships. WWPA Player of the Week Claire Linney got the Broncos started with two quick goals in the first quarter and then a third goal early in the second half to complete the hat-trick, her third in as many games.
After Linney gave the Broncos a 2-0 lead early in the first quarter, the lead doubled before quarters end thanks to goals by Emily Bonk and Brianna Anderson.
In the second quarter, the Coyotes made a game of it, scoring two straight goals and a third in between second goals from Anderson and Bonk to make the score 6-3 at halftime.
Early in the third quarter, Linney scored her third of the afternoon, bringing her scoring total to ten goals in her last three games. Halfway through the period, senior Katie Radvanyi got onto the scoreboard to give the Broncos an 8-3 advantage heading into the fourth quarter.
Not long into the final period, Radvanyi made it two, scoring her second to give the Broncos a 9-3 lead.
With less than two minutes remaining, San Bernardino got desperate and their efforts paid off. With 1:36 remaining, Freyja Berg found net, and less than a minute later, narrowed the lead to 9-5 with just 47 seconds remaining.
With the final seconds ticking away, the Coyotes managed a sixth goal, but it was too late and the third-seeded Broncos advanced with a 9-6 victory over sixth-seeded San Bernardino.
With the victory, Santa Clara will face the winner of second-seeded Loyola Marymount and seventh-seeded Cal State East Bay, whose quarterfinal game is scheduled for 4:15 this afternoon. The Broncos will play the winner on Saturday at 1:45 p.m.
