Pepperdine University
UC Irvine
Men's Water Polo Beats UC Irvine, 11-9
11/1/2014 12:00:00 AM | Men's Water Polo
MALIBU, Calif. - The #11 Pepperdine men's water polo team got off to a great start by scoring goals on each of its first four possessions against #10 UC Irvine and the Waves went on for an 11-9 Mountain Pacific Sports Federation victory on Saturday.
Both of the Waves' seniors got on the scoreboard in the 2014 home finale. After being honored before the game, attacker Jake Schrimpf (San Diego, Calif./Cathedral Catholic HS) scored three goals and attacker Thomas Patten (Newport Beach, Calif./Orange Coast College) tallied once.
With the victory, the Waves improved to 9-11 overall and 1-5 in the MPSF, while the Anteaters fell to 13-9, 1-5.
"It was really big for us mentally to start the game so well," Pepperdine Coach Terry Schroeder said. "We've had some trouble climbing out of holes. That gave us a boost and some confidence."
Junior attacker Wesley Sherburne (Newport Beach, Calif./Corona del Mar HS) scored two of the team's first four goals as the Waves jumped out to a 4-0 lead less than three minutes into the contest. The Waves went ahead 5-3 at the end of the first quarter and took a 9-5 advantage at halftime after junior utility Luke Hewko (Santa Ana, Calif./Servite HS) scored with five seconds left on the clock.
A low-scoring third quarter saw the Waves maintain their four-goal lead at 10-6.
Things got a little nervous in the fourth quarter as the Anteaters scored the first three goals to cut the deficit to 10-9 with 3:47 to play. But on the next possession, Schrimpf fired one home with 2:50 left on a 6-on-5 opportunity, and that would be the last goal of the game.
Freshman goalie Zack Rhodes (Palm Desert, Calif./Palm Desert HS) had a tremendous performance for the Waves as he racked up 16 saves.
"Zack had a great game and that was huge for us," Schroeder said. "He made all the blocks that he had to make."
Sherburne matched Schrimpf with a game-high-tying three goals on the day. UCI was led by Jared Osborn's two goals.
The Waves' final three regular-season games are on the road, beginning next Saturday (Nov. 8) at UC Santa Barbara at 12 p.m.
PEP 5-4-1-1---11
UCI 3-2-1-3---9
PEP Goals: Jake Schrimpf 3, Wesley Sherburne 3, Luke Hewko 2, Kenneth Keller 1, Brock Liebhardt 1, Thomas Patten 1.
PEP Goalie Saves: Zack Rhodes 16.
UCI Goals: Jared Osborn 2, Miles Kalbus 1, Lovre Milos 1, Justin Papa 1, Larson Pfeil 1, Alan Robertson 1, Kyle Trush 1, Ryan Warde 1.
UCI Goalies: Dylan Peterson 0 saves, 4 allowed; Byron Rivers 8 saves, 7 allowed.
6-on-5 Opportunities: Pepperdine 3-for-9, UC Irvine 4-for-7.
