Nov. 20, 2010
Box Score in PDF Format
SANTA CLARA, Calif. - Playing in their 12th straight semifinal in the Western Water Polo Association Championships, the 8th-ranked LMU men's water polo team ran away from a 2-2 tie thanks to nine unanswered goals to defeat 14th-ranked Santa Clara 11-4 at the Sullivan Aquatics Center in Santa Clara on Saturday afternoon.
The Lions improve to 18-8 on the year and 15-1 against WWPA foes with the win and advance to their 12th straight WWPA title game. Santa Clara falls to 18-15 with the setback.
Derek Milligan had his second straight hat-trick, and sophomore Jon Colton also added three goals to lead the scoring. Goalie Andy Stevens added 10 saves.
In front of a capacity crowd in Santa Clara's home pool, the Broncos scored with just one second remaining to tie the game at 2-2 heading into the second period, looking as if they had taken control of the momentum.
The Lions thought different.
Just 20 seconds into the quarter, Colton took a perfect pass from senior Tibor Forai and scored from three meters. Less than a minute later, Milligan delievered a pass to Ikaika Aki and he scored from six meters. And then with 5:23 to play, Santa Clara's shot was hard off the goal, and Forai took the rebound the entire way to score, making it 5-2.
LMU would then score the only four goals of the third quarter to make it a 9-2 game and take the crowd out of it. They would tack on the first two of the fourth to put the game away.
The Lions will take on 12th-ranked UC Davis for the WWPA title at 1:30 p.m., Sunday. The Lions will be looking for their fourth straight title and eighth in 10 years. No LMU men's program has won four straight titles.
