No. 14 Men's Water Polo Pick-Up Conference Win Over LMU

Posted: Nov 05, 2013

SANTA CLARA, Calif.- The No. 14 Bronco men's water polo team faced a tough weekend of play down in Southern California, and went 1-2. On Friday, the Broncos lost their first conference game to No. 10 UC San Diego and fell to Pomona-Pitzer on Saturday, but ended the weekend on a high note, defeating No. 12 Loyola Marymount. The Broncos are now 2-1 in conference and 14-12 for the season.

"Our road trip had obvious ups and downs, but winning on the road against strong teams is always tough," said Bronco head coach Keith Wilbur. "To finish the trip with a solid win over LMU was very good. That puts us at 2-1 in conference play, and we still have the opportunity to earn a high seed at WWPA championships if we can do well in our last two conference games against Air Force and UC Davis next weekend."

UC San Diego scored the first goal of the game, but the Broncos took over the momentum of the game. Mark Davis scored to tie the game 1-1, and Patrick Weiss put on in at the end of the first quarter to give the Broncos the lead 2-1.

The Broncos continued on a four-goal run to start the second quarter of the game. With goals from Matt Godar, Theo Nasser, James Rude and another by Weiss, the Broncos had a 6-1 lead over the Tritons. However, the Tritons battled back and put in three goals to make it 6-4, Bronco advantage going into half.

UC San Diego brought in back within one to start the third, but Jimmy Moore scored his first goal of the game to give the team a two-goal advantage. The Tritons found a second wind in the third and went on a four-goal run to take back the lead 9-7 going in the final quarter.

The Tritons scored another goal in the beginning of the fourth to give them a three-goal advantage. Weiss scored his third goal of the game and Davis scored his second, but the Broncos could not find the back of the net and lost 10-9.

The Broncos then traveled up to Los Angeles to play their only nonconference game of the weekend against Pomona-Pitzer. Nasser started the game with a goal and Kyle Nadel followed suit, giving the Broncos a two-goal lead. The Sagehens came back and went on a three-goal run to give them the advantage 3-2.

Nadel put in his second goal, which tied the game 3-3. The Sagehens scored two more goals, but Tucker Carlson found the back of the cage to bring the Broncos within one, 5-4.

The Sagehens controlled the game in the third quarter, and the Broncos could not convert any of their opportunities. Pomona went into the fourth quarter with the lead, 8-4.

Despite their best efforts, the Broncos could not find the back of the net. Weiss put in his first goal of the game, but the Sagehens left the pool with the win, 10-5.

After loosing the first two games, the Broncos were determined to pick up a conference win over No. 12 LMU. Nasser started off the game with a goal, but LMU tied the game at 1-1, squeezing a goal in with 20 seconds left in the first quarter.

The Lions started off the second period with a goal to give them the advantage, but Graham McClone found the back of the net for the first time that weekend to tie the game 2-2. Matt Kochalko followed up with another Bronco goal to give them back the lead. LMU retied the game 3-3, but from there the Broncos controlled the pool the rest of the game.

The Broncos went on a five goal unanswered run in the second and beginning of the third quarter before the Lions were able to stop them. The Broncos left the pool with the win 10-6, with goals by Nasser, Davis, Nadel, Kochalko, Moore and two by Weiss.

The Broncos will now head home and have their senior day on Nov. 9 against Air Force. This will be another big conference game, and a special day for the seniors, so make sure you come out and support your Broncos!