PALO ALTO, Calif. – The #5 Pepperdine men's water polo team fell in a barnburner Sunday against top-ranked Stanford 12-11.
Mate Toth and
Balazs Kosa had hat tricks for the Waves.
The Waves (17-7, 1-1 GCC) mounted a comeback in the final period but could not overcome the Cardinal (15-1), who got a four-goal performance from Ben Hallock.
GAME RECAP
Stanford started the game hot, getting two straight goals to go up 2-0. Kosa (Budapest, Hungary/Csik Ferenc Általános Iskola És Gimnázium) got the Waves on the board with his first goal. After two more Stanford goals,
Curtis Jarvis (Huntington Beach, Calif./Huntington Beach HS) scored the first of his two goals on the day. Toth (Balatonalmadi, Hungary/Szilagyi Erszebet Boarding School) and Kosa both scored to end the first, but the Waves trailed 5-4 after eight minutes of play. In the second quarter, Jarvis got his second goal after a Cardinal goal.
Marko Asic (Laguna Niguel, Calif./Dana Hills HS) then scored to keep the Waves within two goals. After one half of the game, the Cardinal led 8-6.
Toth scored to start the half, cutting the Cardinal lead to just a single goal. Then, after a Stanford goal,
Sean Ferrari (Redwood City, Calif./St. Francis HS) scored the Waves' final goal of the quarter. After three quarters, Stanford led the Waves 10-8. In the fourth, the Waves' outscored the Cardinal, as Toth completed his hat trick,
Austin Smit (San Diego, Calif./Cathedral Catholic HS) scored his first goal and Kosa scored his third. Kosa's goal was with just 21 seconds left on the clock, but the Cardinal controlled the ball for the remainder of the game to win.
STATS
SCORING: PEPP—4—2—2—3—11 ; STAN—5—3—2—2—12
GOALS: PEPP— Kosa (3), Toth (3), Jarvis (2), Asic, Ferrari, Smit ;
STAN— Hallock (4), Abramson (2), Rossman (2), Williams (2), Q. Woodhead (2)
SAVES: PEPP— J. Marco (13) ;
STAN— Chun (18)
UP NEXT
The Waves head back home to Malibu next weekend, hosting San Jose State at noon on Saturday before hosting the Pepperdine Invite on Sunday. In the Pepperdine Invite, the Waves will take on Cal Lutheran at noon and Concordia Irvine at 6 p.m.
