Box Score (Air Force)

Box Score (Navy)

MALIBU, Calif. - The No. 9 Pepperdine men's water polo team picked up a pair of wins on Saturday, downing No. 14 Air Force 14-10 and then No. 16 Navy 14-9.

The Waves move to 6-5 on the year with the wins, getting some much-needed momentum heading into MPSF play next week.

"It was important for us to get two wins and get on the right track," said head coach Terry Schroeder. "We're getting into the heart of the season and need to get things together. Our young guys have played pretty well, we just need our veterans to step up and provide that leadership."

The Waves opened the early game with three-straight goals against Air Force to jump out to a quick lead. Two of the three goals scored were from Wesley Sherburne (Newport Beach, Calif./Corona del Mar HS) during that early run.

After scoring a goal late in the first quarter and then posting the first two goals of the second period, the Falcons were able to tie the game at 3-3 with 4:35 left in the first half. Pepperdine would respond with five goals in the rest of the quarter to take an 8-5 lead into the break.

The teams played even through the third quarter and traded a pair of goals each through the first three minutes of the fourth period. Kenneth Keller (Long Beach, Calif./Los Alamitos HS) scored with just over two minutes left and Cristian Bridley (Santa Barbara, Calif./Santa Barbara HS) made it 14-9 a minute later. A last second goal by Air Force made it 14-10.

Mark Urban (Budapest, Hungary//Diablo Valley College) and Sherburne led the Waves with three goals each in that game. Zack Rhodes (Palm Desert, Calif./Palm Desert HS) finished with 15 saves.

In the late game, the Waves held a 4-3 lead after the first quarter, but scored six times in the second period to make it a 10-5 game at the half, getting three goals from Sherburne again. Pepperdine extended that lead in the third quarter and then held on for the 14-8 victory despite going scoreless in the final period.

Rhodes had 13 saves including seven in the fourth quarter for Pepperdine. Sherburne finished with four goals in the game.

"Zack had a good day in the net," said Schroeder. "We still have some work to do on defense, though, and we need to get that figured out before UCLA next week."

The Waves will be back in action next Friday when they open up MPSF play at home against top-ranked UCLA. Pepperdine then hosts San Jose State on Saturday in another conference matchup.

No. 9 Pepperdine def. No. 14 Air Force, 14-10
PEP - 3 - 5 - 2 - 4
AF - 1 - 4 - 2 - 3

PEP Scoring: Sherburne 3, Urban 3, Dilworth 2, Keller, Asic, Bridley, Hewko, Arzumanyan, Thomas
AF Scoring: Curia 4, Carter 2, Harrison 2, Rogers, Thomas

PEP Saves: Rhodes 15
AF Saves: Guarino 4, Benson 3

No. 9 Pepperdine def. No. 16 Navy, 14-9
PEP - 4 - 6 - 4 - 0
NAVY - 3 - 2 - 2 - 2

PEP Scoring: Sherburne 4, Thomas 2, Madaras, Olsen, Liebhardt, Keller, Asic, Bridley, Hewko, Dilworth
NAVY Scoring: Staresenel 2, Huber 2, Zimmerman 2, Dowzicky, Thomas, Sullivan

PEP Saves: Rhodes 13
NAVY Saves: Bayless 2, Lintz 2, Sabescky