Broncos Edged by Cal Baptist
By Ryan Marshall
The Santa Clara women's water polo team could not accomplish the feat of winning two games in one day when they were narrowly defeated by Cal Baptist just hours after a win against Cal State Monterey Bay this past Saturday. The Broncos had gained momentum after cruising to a 10-5 win in the morning, but the team could not convert a late goal in the afternoon game and fell 9-8 to the Cal Baptist Lancers.
Cal Baptist (6-7) came out very physical and did not give the Broncos (4-15) an easy time. The Lancers' fast-paced play propelled them out to a 4-3 first quarter lead, but Santa Clara would score late in the quarter to only be down one through the first eight minutes of play.
"Both teams were running a really hard, physical press," said tenth-year Head Coach Keith Wilbur. "I think we got off to a slow start not handling the press well, and in water polo very often if one team is physical and you retaliate, the referees see the retaliation."
The Broncos suffered a dry spell in the second quarter due to a combination of penalties that didn't go their way and good defense by the Lancers. But another Santa Clara goal helped the team avoid going scoreless for the quarter. Cal Baptist led 6-4 after a physical first half.
The aggressive pressure did not end there as the third quarter produced two penalty shots (one for each team), which were both successful. The Broncos' two-score deficit was maintained throughout the third quarter and the score was 8-6 going into the final period.
Santa Clara mustered two quick scores in the first minute and a half of the fourth quarter to tie the game, but Cal Baptist returned fire several minutes later with a powerful goal from long distance.
Down 9-8 in the closing minutes, the Broncos had several opportunities to equalize the score, but the ball could not find the back of the net. With 10 seconds left, a save by Santa Clara junior goalkeeper Stephanie Clements gave the Broncos one last possession to tie the game up but a last-second shot sailed a few inches over the top goalpost.
"I thought the girls played hard," said Wilbur. "They never gave up and they made a good run out in the fourth quarter. We just couldn't get that last goal."
Although his team could not find a way to come out on top in the close game, Coach Wilbur explained how he appreciates the types of situations that the tight games present to his team, and the learning opportunities that follow.
"Cal Baptist is a really strong team," said Wilbur. "We could have done some things better at the end, but it's good (for us) to keep putting ourselves in that situation because the more you're there the more you learn how to win those type of games. You're going to have a couple tough losses before you start getting those good wins."
Contact Ryan Marshall at rmarshall@scu.edu or (408) 554-4852.