SANTA CLARA, Calif. – After a tough matchup Wednesday night against No. 2 Stanford, the No. 17 Broncos brought their A-game, taking down No. 9 Pepperdine in a Friday evening match-up. With the game seeing 11 different tying points, David Guibord put the nail in the coffin, bringing the whole fan section to their feet, with a trick-shot for the winning goal, 16-15.
The Cardinal controlled the first quarter, going on a five-goal run and kept the Broncos scoreless. Will Grant came out firing to start the second quarter, scoring the Broncos first goal, 5-1. David Guibord quickly followed with a goal, making it 5-2. The Cardinal went on an eight-goal unanswered run, taking the 13-2 lead going into half.
The Cardinal continued to dominate the game, going on a five goal run in the third quarter. Michael Franco scored for the Broncos and the third quarter ended 18-3. Grant got inside water positioning in front of the goal and threw in a lob-shot goal, 18-4 Cardinal. Franco put in one more goal for the Broncos but the game ended 22-5, Cardinal win.
Davis started the Broncos off with a goal but the Waves answered back with one of their own to tie it 1-1. Evan Chang earned an ejection in front of the cage, giving the Broncos a man-up opportunity that was converted by Graham McClone. The Waves once again tied the game two all. On another man up opportunity, Guibord threw one in to regain the lead, 3-2. For a third time, the Waves tied the game up but Chase Schaaf found the back of the net, making it 4-3. The Waves tied the game four the fourth and final time in the first quarter the Waves tied the game at 4-4. Matt Kochalko put in the final goal, giving the Broncos the 5-4 lead going into the second quarter.
The Broncos and the Waves played an even quarter each scoring two goals. Off of an earned ejection, the Waves retied the game 5-5. Davis fired another into the cage, giving the Broncos the 6-5 lead. For the sixth time, the Waves tied the game at six all. Matt Godar put in the final goal, keeping the Broncos lead going into half 7-6.
The Waves started off the third quarter with a goal tying the game 7-7. The Waves converted a man up opportunity to take the lead for the first time all game, 8-7. Grant didn't leave the Broncos down for long, finding the back of the net for the 8-8 tie. Falling back down by one, John Raineri picked the Broncos up with a goal and the ninth tie of the game and sent the Broncos on a run. With another by Raineri and one by Grant, the Broncos took the first two-goal lead of the game, 11-9. The Broncos maintained a one-goal lead going into the fourth quarter, 11-10.
In the fourth quarter, the Waves, for the 10th time, tied the game at 11 all. Raineri and Grant stepped up to the plate again this quarter, each scoring their third goals of the game. Guibord pulled out his signature trick-shot, a backhand, to give the Broncos a two-goal lead, 14-12. Grant drew a penalty goal that was taken and converted by Davis, 15-12 Broncos. The Waves battled back, going on a three-goal run to tie the game for one final time, 15-15. Off of a timeout play with 18 seconds left to play, Guibord pulled out his signature shot from outside the five meter, catching the Pepperdine goalie off guard and sealed the 16-15 win.
The Broncos will carry this moral into their final home game on Sun., Nov. 16 against conference rival No. 14 UC Davis. Be sure to come out and support your Broncos!
