Waves Play at San Jose State, UC Davis
10/25/2016 12:00:00 AM | Men's Water Polo
This Week: The No. 8 Pepperdine men's water polo team hits the road for a pair of games this week, resuming Golden Coast Conference play against San Jose State at West Valley College on Friday and then taking on No. 9 UC Davis on Saturday.
Game #20: Friday (October 28) at West Valley College in Saratoga, Calif.: No. 8 Pepperdine (10-9, 0-2) vs. San Jose State (7-14, 0-2) at 7 p.m.
Game #21: Friday (October 29) at Schaal Aquatic Center in Davis, Calif.: No. 8 Pepperdine (10-9) vs. No. 9 UC Davis (18-4) at 12:30 p.m.
Follow: Friday's GCC matchup at San Jose State will have live statistics on SJSUSpartans.com. Live video and stats for Saturday's game at UC Davis will be available at UCDavisAggies.com. Follow @PeppWaterPolo on Twitter for updates.
Last Week: Pepperdine played just one game last week, hosting No. 5 Stanford for a non-conference matchup. The Waves fell to the Cardinal, 9-5, on Sunday afternoon despite getting three goals from Marko Asic.
Netminder: Zack Rhodes picked up GCC Player of the Week honors two weeks ago, posting double-digit save totals in two games. Rhodes first helped keep the Waves in a close contest at Long Beach State, posting 11 saves in what ended up being a 7-4 loss. The junior goalkeeper then notched 15 saves against Loyola Marymount, leading Pepperdine to the 7-6 win. Rhodes is second in the GCC with 189 saves this year.
Coming up Clutch: Mark Urban played a big part in leading the Waves to their win over LMU, scoring a team-high two goals in the game. Urban scored the game-winning goal with 1:13 to play and then grabbed a steal on the final possession to end the Lions' hopes of forcing overtime. Urban is third on the team with 29 goals and is second with 17 assists.
Leading The Attack: Marko Asic has paced the Waves offensively so far this year, putting up 46 scores. Asic has matched his career-high five goals three times this season. He has already eclipsed his team-high 45 goals from last season.
Other Notes:
- Kenneth Keller has led the Waves nearly all year in assists, currently posting 25 helpers so far this year. Keller's 25 assists are second in the GCC.
- Freshman Mate Toth has been a welcome addition to the Pepperdine offense as he is currently second on the team with 32 goals.
- George Mooney and Justin Cowan are both in double-digits in goals and assists this year. Mooney has 11 goals, 15 assists and Cowan has 11 goals, 10 assists.
The Roster: The Waves return 19 players from last year's squad. Pepperdine brings one player off of a redshirt season and adds five newcomers to the squad. The Waves have five freshman, eight sophomores, eight juniors and four seniors.
New Home: Pepperdine officially joined the newly formed Golden Coast Conference men's water polo division this offseason, joining five other former MPSF members, Long Beach State, Pacific, San Jose State, UC Irvine and UC Santa Barbara. The Golden Coast Conference initially was formed as a women's water polo conference in 2013 with seven NCAA Division I and Division II universities.
Waves in Rio: Waves assistant coach Merrill Moses and former Pepperdine standout Jesse Smith represented the U.S. at the Olympic Games in August. Smith was playing in his fourth Olympics after also competing in 2004, 2008 and 2012, while Moses was playing in his third straight games (2008, 12). Pepperdine alums Jack Kocur and Alex Rodriguez also served as assistant coaches with the U.S. national team in Rio.
Meet the Coaches…
Terry Schroeder: Water polo icon Terry Schroeder returned in 2013 for his second tour of duty as the Pepperdine men's water polo head coach. In his first stint with Pepperdine (1986-2005) he amassed 340 wins and a national championship in 1997. The head coach for USA Water Polo at two Olympics, Schroeder has been inducted into the Capital One Academic All-America Hall of Fame (2013), International Swimming Hall of Fame (2005), U.S. Water Polo Hall of Fame (1998) and the Pepperdine Athletics Hall of Fame (1985). Now in his 24th season, he has a career record of 371-264 and is the winningest coach in program history.
Merrill Moses: Three-time U.S. Olympian (2008, 2012, 2016) and former Pepperdine All-American Merrill Moses returns for the 2016 season as an assistant. A 2013 inductee into the Pepperdine Athletics Hall of Fame, Moses led the United States to a gold medal at the 2007, 2011 and 2015 Pan American Games. Moses also led the Waves to the 1997 national championship where they captured their first title.
About Pepperdine: Pepperdine boasts a one-of-a-kind athletic department with unprecedented success for a school of its size. The Waves have won NCAA Division I championships in five different men's sports -- one of just 17 schools to have accomplished this feat -- and nine overall. Of this elite group, Pepperdine has the smallest undergraduate enrollment, is the only school without football and is the only university that has not been affiliated with a "major" conference. The Waves have won a total of 25 team or individual national championships in their history. Pepperdine has also earned the Division I-AAA All-Sports Trophy, an award based on postseason success that's given to the top non-football school, three times (most recently in 2011-12). Located in scenic Malibu, Calif., the university overlooks the Pacific Ocean and its campus and athletic facilities are regularly voted among the nation's most beautiful. Pepperdine, which is affiliated with the Church of Christ, ranks #50 overall on U.S. News and World Report's list of America's best colleges.
