No. 7 Waves Conclude Regular Season
11/17/2004 12:00:00 AM | Men's Water Polo
Nov. 17, 2004
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The Home Stretch: After two upset victories last week, the seventh-ranked Waves finish up the regular season this Saturday with a match against sixth-ranked Long Beach State. This weekend's 1 p.m. match will be the last at Raleigh Runnel's Memorial Pool. The Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF) Tournament will take place the following weekend on Nov. 26-28.
Last Week for the Waves: The Waves had their strongest week of the season, pulling off two upset victories over Loyola Marymount and Santa Barbara.
In last Thursday's match, Pepperdine dominated the Lions as they earned a 7-3 win against their local rival. A three-goal third quarter put the match out of reach as the Waves improved their record to 12-12 on the year.
Grant Miller led all scorers with three on Thursday. Josh Acosta tallied two goals in the match and was supported by Adam Hewko and Matt MacDonell who each found the back of the net once. Goalkeeper Robbie Miller collected nine saves in the match.
The Waves traveled to Santa Barbara to take on the Gauchos on Saturday in what proved to be one of tightest matches of the season. Pepperdine jumped out to an early lead, heading into the half with a 4-2 advantage. They would be limited to two goals in the second half though, as they held on to pull out the one-goal victory.
Matt Digges led Waves scorers with two goals. Hewko, Miller, Acosta, and MacDonell each tallied one in the victory as Pepperdine jumped over .500 for the first time since losing to Stanford on Oct. 23. Robbie Miller had another outstanding game at goal, tallying 11 saves in the match.
The Waves now boast an 13-12 record over all after last weekend and a 3-5 record in MPSF play.
The Polls: After the two upset victories this past week, the Waves have jumped four slots in the standings and now boast a national rank of seventh. After being picked fifth in the preseason standing, the Waves dropped as low as twelfth at one point during the season. Heading into the final match of the regular season the Wave have an opportunity to jump even higher in the polls as they host sixth-ranked Long Beach State.
MPSF: This weekend's matches against Long Beach State will end the regular season for Pepperdine. With the league schedule complete, the Waves have been slotted the seventh seed for the MPSF Tournament. Pepperdine will be matched up against Stanford to open this years MPSF Championship Tournament. The MPSF is proud to boast yet another strong year with all nine teams ranked 14th or higher nationally. MPSF teams also currently hold the top seven slots in the national polls.
Breakin' it Down: The Waves are outscoring their opponents this year, averaging 7.60 goals per match while allowing only 7.12. Pepperdine has also outscored their opponents in the first three quarter this season, their strongest being the second, where they have scored 53 goals (2.12 per match).
Pepperdine boasts an 11-5 record when they score more than 6 goals in a match. The Waves are also 13-6 in matches where they hold their opponents to less than 10 goals.
The Leaderboard: Grant Miller's four goals last week keep him on top of the leaderboard as the Wave's highest scorer with 45. Miller is averaging 1.80 goals per match and is ranked as the 10th highest scorer in the MPSF. Josh Acosta continues to play strong this year holding the second slot on the Pepperdine leaderboard. Acosta now has 33 on the season and had scored in 10 straight matches earlier this year. Acosta holds the 16th slot on the MPSF leaderboard averaging 1.32 goals per match.
The Coach: Regarded as one of the world's all-time outstanding players, and the U.S. National team captain from 1983-92, Dr. Terry Schroeder is in the midst of his 19th season as Pepperdine's head coach. The Waves have enjoyed tremendous success during Schroeder's previous 18 campaigns, posting a cumulative record of 307-195 (.612), earning eight NCAA Championships berths and claiming the program's first-ever national title in 1997.
Under Schroeder's watchful eye, Pepperdine has been a regular contender in recent years for the NCAA title, winning 20 or more games in a season on seven occasions. Pepperdine notched a 19-8 record last season and finished tied for fifth in the nine-team Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF). Schroeder directed Pepperdine to a dazzling 25-3 (.893) mark in 1997, the best single-season winning percentage in the program's history. Not only did the program have four players earn first team All-American honors from U.S. Water Polo, but Schroeder was named the national "Coach of the Year" in 1997, as Pepperdine won its first-ever NCAA crown in water polo.
Tabbed the Big West Conference (BWC) "Coach of the Year" in 1989, Schroeder has directed Pepperdine to five regular season league titles. Schroeder oversaw a smooth transition of the Pepperdine program in 1986 when he succeeded longtime head coach Rick Rowland. The Waves rolled to a 23-11 record, winning the BWC title with an 11-1 mark, and placed fourth at the NCAA Championships. Pepperdine earned a fourth place finish at the 1989 NCAA Championships and was fifth in 1987, 1990 and 1992. The 1997 team won its first 14 games and claimed the regular season MPSF title with a perfect 8-0 mark. Schroeder was selected the MPSF "Coach of the Year" for the first time since the league was formed for water polo back in 1992. Schroeder was tabbed the University's 1997-98 "Coach of the Year."
A four-time Olympian, Schroeder maintains a busy schedule which includes coaching, working as a chiropractor and promoting water polo. The Schroeder-led U.S. team finished second to Yugoslavia at both the 1984 and 1988 Olympic Games, and placed fourth at the 1992 event in Barcelona, Spain. He earned All-American honors at Pepperdine in 1977, 1978 and 1980. Schroeder led the Waves to fourth place finishes at the NCAA Championships in each of those seasons and a cumulative four-year record of 109-39 (.736).
