Sept. 19, 2004

SANTA CRUZ, Calif. - The 20th-ranked Santa Clara men's water polo team dropped a 14-13 overtime heartbreaker to UC Santa Cruz on Sunday afternoon. With the loss, the Broncos fall to 1-7 on the season.

"This was our toughest loss on the season," said head coach Keith Wilbur. "This is a young team. We are still coming together as a group. We will be able to build off this in the future."

The Broncos kept the match close through out as the teams were tied at 3-3 after the first period. SCU would take a 7-5 advantage into halftime, but ended each of the following periods tied with the Banana Slugs.

Senior Kenny Flanagan-De La Hoz had an amazing match, posting his first hat trick of the season. He also recorded three assists, three steals and earned four ejections to lead the Bronco offense.

Five Broncos, including Flanagan-De la Hoz, scored multiple goals in the match. Chris Parolin, Charlie Moore, Mark Oda and Matthew Martin each found the back of the net twice in Santa Cruz. Austin Brizgys and Kevin Starry both scored a goal in the contest.

Goalkeeper Peter Moore notched six saves in the match.

Next weekend, SCU will return to Santa Cruz for the two-day Slugfest Tournament.