BOX SCORE
 
LOS ANGELES – LMU never trailed as the men's water polo team took down Santa Clara on Thursday afternoon. The #11 Lions (7-8, 2-1 WWPA) picked up their second conference win of the season highlighted by David Carrasco's seven-goal performance.
 
LMU nearly pitched a shutout in the opening quarter, keeping Santa Clara off the boards until the final four seconds of the period. Goals by Alexandros Athymaritis, David Carrasco, and Blazo Mitrovic pushed the Lions ahead, 3-1, after the eight-minute opening session.
 
Carrasco and Mitrovic started the second quarter with goals to extend the LMU lead to 5-1. After the Broncos got one back, Carrasco and Austin Clark closed out the half with consecutive goals to make it a 7-2 halftime advantage.
 
Jon Lien played the first half in goal for the Lions, allowing just two goals in 16 minutes of play and recording four saves, two assists, and one steal. Zach Zemliak replaced Lien for the second half and recorded five steals of his own with a pair of assists.
 
Jonny Rimlinger bookended a pair of Santa Clara goals by Adam Low with two of his own to open the third quarter. Carrasco scored two more goals towards the end of the period to push it to an 11-5 game after three quarters.
 
Carrasco would score twice in the final eight minutes to push his game-high totals to seven goals on eight shots. Both Carrasco and Mitrovic tied for the game-high with three assists apiece. Christian Huhn would score twice in the final quarter as well to give the Lions the 15-9 victory.
 
LMU hits the road for the first conference game away from Burns Aquatics Center. The Lions and Air Force square off on Saturday morning.