By Scott Padula

Writer

The men’s water polo team traveled west this past weekend to face four ranked opponents in the Santa Clara Rodeo. The Orange and Blue kicked off the tournament on Saturday, Oct. 22 with losses to No. 3 Stanford and No. 12 UC Davis and then wrapped up the tournament with losses to No. 15 Santa Clara and No. 6 Pepperdine. The Orange and Blue now stand at 10-8 heading into the postseason.

In the first game of the tournament, the Bison fell to Stanford 15-1. The previously ranked No. 1 Cardinals played strong on the defensive end, allowing co-captain Spencer Richley ’12 to tally the lone Bison goal. A bright spot for the Orange and Blue was in goal, where Matt Napleton ’13 and Keegan Williams ’15 together recorded 11 saves.

Shortly after the loss to Stanford, the Bison squared off with UC Davis. The Orange and Blue jumped on the Aggies early, taking a three-goal advantage into the final quarter. The Bison could not contain UC Davis in the fourth, and the Aggies won 12-11.

Sunday morning, the Orange and Blue faced host Santa Clara. The Bison trailed 7-3 at the intermission and never recovered. The Orange and Blue eventually fell 13-6. Co-captain Beau Caillouette ’12 led the charge with a pair of goals and ejections drawn in the loss. Daniel Schwartz ’12, Jack Else ’14, Alex Nowlin ’14 and Mike Kimble ’14 all scored one goal apiece.

In the Bison’s final game of the season, the Orange and Blue played Pepperdine, losing 16-7. The Bison held the game even at 2-2 after the first quarter, thanks to a pair of goals from Kimble. The Orange and Blue could not keep up with the Pepperdine offense in the second; they were outscored 7-1.  Kimble was the only Bison to record multiple goals.

The Bison will have a week off before they head to Princeton to compete in the Southern Championships Nov. 4-6.