#5 Waves Battle #4 Bruins at Home on Saturday
10/29/2009 12:00:00 AM | Men's Water Polo
Game #18: PEPPERDINE vs. UCLA (Saturday, Oct. 31 @ 12 p.m. at The Raleigh-Runnels Memorial Pool, Malibu, Calif.)
HALLOWEEN COSTUME COMPETITION-- $50. gift certificate to Malibu Yogurt for the best costume at Saturday's game.
ORANGE OUT -- Wear an orange shirt and get $2. off a regularly priced ticket.
COMMUNITY FLYER MATCH -- Pick up a "Buy 1, Get 1 Free" flyer at one of the following Malibu restaurants: Lily's Cafe, Malibu Yogurt, Subway and Kentucky Fried Chicken.
The Bruins (16-5, 2-2) won four games in four days last week with victories over Loyola Marymount, UC Irvine, Pacific and Chapman.
UCLA's most consistent scorer this season has been junior Ben Hohl who has scored 23 goals in 21 matches.
DAVIS RECAP- The No. 5 Pepperdine water polo team went on a five-goal scoring run to defeat No. 13 UC Davis 10-6, in a non-conference match on Friday afternoon, at the Schaal Aquatic Center.
Seniors JP MacDonell (Redwood City, Calif./Bellarmine Prep.) and Jacob Young (Saratoga, Calif./Valley Christian HS) were the Waves high scorers with two goals each. Six additional players scored a goal for Pepperdine. Freshman Tommy O'Connnell (Trabuco Canyon, Calif./ El Toro HS) was credited with eight saves in the goal.
The first period saw the lead trade between Pepperdine (8-8, 1-2) and Davis (10-10) with the Waves scoring the first goal. The game tied four times in the first two quarters. Midway through the second quarter MacDonell scored on an extra-man opportunity to start a five-goal scoring run.
While the score was 7-5 at the half, the Waves came back strong for the second half holding the Aggies offense to one goal in the last two periods.
CAL RECAP - The No. 5 ranked Pepperdine water polo team suffered a disappointing 13-7 loss to No. 3 California on Saturday, after being tied 5-5 at the half.
Senior Brett Auer (Newport Beach, Calif./Newport Beach HS) led the Wave offense with three goals. Freshman Tommy O'Connnell (Trabuco Canyon, Calif./ El Toro HS) was credited with eight saves in the goal.
Pepperdine (8-9, 1-3) was up 6-5 early in the third period. However, a strong Golden Bear (14-4, 2-1) offense took command and scored the next eight goals.
MPSF CO-PLAYER OF THE WEEK - Pepperdine true freshman goalkeeper Tommy O'Connell was selected as Co-MPSF Player of the Week (10/7/09) for his MPSF single-game high of 15 saves on Saturday.
The freshman goalkeepers 15 saves helped Pepperdine to an 8-7 win over MPSF rival Long Beach. With the score tied 6-6 after three quarters, he allowed just one goal fourth period goal in helping the Waves to their first conference win of the season.
O'Connell (Trabuco Canyon, Calif./El Toro HS) shares the honors with Janson Wigo of Stanford who recorded a game-high four goals to help Stanford to an 8-6 victory of UCLA.
PEPPERDINE IN THE POLLS - The Waves remained at No. 5 in the national rankings this week, according to the latest NCAA Div. I polls.
MPSF STATS: JP MacDonell is ranked No. 3for goals scored with a 2.20 average per game. Thomas O'Connell is ranked No. 7 for goalie saves with a 6.42 average per game and No. 8 for goals against with a 7.47 average per game. The Waves are ranked No. 8 for team goals at 8.59 per game and No. 7 for team defense with 8.88 per game.
COACH KOCUR - Coach Jack Kocur is in his fourth year as head coach. Kocur took over the position from Terry Schroeder when he took a leave of absence to serve as the assistant coach for the U.S. National Team in 2006. Kocur was a member of the Waves 1997 national championship team, earning first All-American honors as a senior. Kocur spent four seasons as an assistant under Schroeder.
COACH O'BRIEN - Coach Gary O'Brien begins his second season as assistant coach. O'Brien played for UCLA and then went on to play semi-professionally in Australia. He has eight years of coaching experience at the high school, community college, university and club level.
PEPPERDINE HISTORY - In its 34 seasons, the Pepperdine water polo program has posted an overall record of 648-382-8, including a 163-108 Mountain Pacific Sports Federation record. The Waves have posted 15 20+ winning seasons and advanced to the NCAA Championships 12 times, claiming the program's lone national title in 1997.
SUPER SENIOR CLASS - The senior class is comprised of two returning starters and four returning players who were an integral part of the 2008 team. JP MacDonell and Clayton Snyder lead the team as the 2009 co-captain. MacDonell was selected as a 2008 All-American third team and All MPSF first team. He was a member of the 2009 USA Water Polo University Team. Snyder enters his second season as a co-captain. He was named to the 2008 All-MPSF third team and the All-MPSF academic team.
Taylor Watson had a strong 2008 season and will be a contender for a starting position. Brett Auer came back at the end of the season after recovering from an injury. He led the Waves with three goals in an upset victory against Stanford at the 2008 MPSF semi-finals. Christian Cardey, Preston Lujan, Sam Busby and Jacob Young round out the senior class. The group has been together all four years with the exception of Young who transferred as a junior in 2008. All four saw significant playing time in the 2008 season and are expected to be key on defense and counter attacks.
REDSHIRTS RETURN - Four redshirts are anxious to get back in the pool this season. Travis Gough, Matt Brown, Jonathan Flowers and Milos Purkovic should all see some action this year. Gough was one of the top freshman scorers in 2007. He scored five goals in a game twice (Whittier and Cal Lutheran). Brown, Flowers and Purkovic will make their debut as Waves this season.
JUNIORS - Andrew Milcovich and Bryce Mclain will represent the junior class this year. Milcovich is a returning
starter and a 2008 MPSF All-Academic team selection. McLain is expected to be the starting goal keeper for the Waves.
AMAZING FRESHMAN CLASS - Fourteen freshmen make the 2009 class one of the largest in Pepperdine history.
Among the group are two USA Water Polo Junior National Team members: Spencer Hamby and James Perry. Fellow Wave Mathew Carter played for South Africa's Junior National Team.
Twelve remaining freshmen fill every position on the roster and look to provide the Waves with depth this season.
ABOUT PEPPERDINE - Pepperdine boasts a one-of-a-kind athletic department with unprecedented success for a school of its size. The Waves have won a total of nine NCAA championships in five different men's sports - one of just 14 schools to have accomplished this feat. Of the 14, Pepperdine is the only non-BCS school and has by far the smallest enrollment. The majority of Pepperdine's teams are ranked nationally year after year and compete for conference and national titles.
