No. 17 Santa Clara men’s water polo (12-12) played another back-to-back weekend, taking on No. 15 San Jose State (9-7) on Saturday, Oct. 31, after losing 11-10 to Saint Mary’s the day before.
The crowd was raucous, with loud cheers every time anyone in red touched the ball and vicious boos the opposite way. Many spectators were decked out in Halloween costumes, from Shrek to classic condiments like Ketchup and Mustard.
The festivities added to an electric match atmosphere. Charlie Engs ’27 and Weston Bancroft ’28 scored two Santa Clara goals, but the Broncos ended the first quarter with a 4-2 deficit.
Imme van der Schaaf ’29 added two goals and Henry Engs ’28 added a goal and an assist to start off a high-scoring second half, but San Jose State responded with three goals of their own to bring the score to 7-5 at halftime.
The Broncos struggled in the third period, with San Jose State outscoring them 2-1. Luke Baird ’27 scored the lone Santa Clara goal of the period off of another assist by Henry Engs.
Going into the fourth period, the Broncos faced the unenviable task of clawing back from a three-goal deficit. By now, the once raucous crowd had been silenced.
Finding a second wind, the Broncos came out on a mission with a monster five-goal period. Henry Engs continued his stellar performance, adding a goal and an assist in the period, bringing his assist total for the game to four. Van der Schaaf added a goal and an assist on the game-tying goal to extend his team’s leading assist total.
Charlie Engs added a second goal off of an assist from his brother, Henry Engs. Riccardo De Simon ’28 added another goal off of an assist from Baird. The goal from De Simon cut the deficit to one after it had increased to four earlier in the period. Ashton Brown scored the game-tying goal with 1:27 left to tie the game and send it to overtime.
Overtime was a hard-fought defensive battle, with both teams struggling to score. With 45 seconds left in the last overtime, San Jose State’s Aron Sárfalvi scored the game-winning goal to hand Santa Clara its fifth loss by only one goal this season.
Next up, the Broncos will head to Stockton to take on Pacific on Nov. 6. They return to the Sullivan Aquatic Center on Nov. 8 to take on the Air Force Academy for the final game of the regular season. During the week of Nov. 20, the Sullivan Aquatic Center will host the WCC tournament, a crucial event for the Broncos’ postseason hopes.