Scores: UC Davis 17, Santa Clara 15
Location: Santa Clara, Calif. (Sullivan Aquatic Center)
Record: UC Davis 6-6, Santa Clara 6-5
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The short story: 11 first-half goals from the UC Davis water polo team elevated them past the Santa Clara Broncos 17-15 on Saturday, Sept. 27.
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HOW IT HAPPENED
- The Aggie offense was kicked off by Thomas Marr, who scored one of six goals for his team in the first quarter.
- A 3-1 lead from Santa Clara was wiped out by back-to-back goals from Colin Nicholls, before one from freshman Oriol Viñas gave Davis their first lead of the day.
- Thomas Kiesling and Andrew Bonelli each responded to scores from the Broncos, giving their team a slim 6-5 lead after the first.
- In the second quarter, the ball continued to find the back of the net for the Aggies, with two from Timothy Kerr leading the way.
- Kiesling's second, along with the first from Gabe Bensen and Max Prokhin combatted three goals from the home team to give them an 11-8 lead after 16 minutes.
- Santa Clara responded with four straight goals to begin the second half, retaking the lead.
- But Kiesling secured a hat trick with just seconds left in the third, tying the game at 12 apiece going into the final eight minutes.
- Another from Viñas and Bensen gave the Aggies the slim 14-13 lead, but Riccardo De Simon for the Broncos notched it once again at 14.
- Down to the final minutes of the game, as each team looked to break the tie, an errand pass for Santa Clara led to an own goal that gave UC Davis another lead.
- From there, Kiesling and Marr put the finishing touches on the scoring, giving their team a 17-15 victory.
UP NEXT: UC Davis returns home tomorrow after a two-week sabbatical from Schaal Aquatics Center to take on the USC Trojans on Sunday, Sept. 28. The game is scheduled for 12:00 p.m. PT and admittance is free for all Aggie fans.
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