Malibu, Calif. – For the first time since 1997, the Pepperdine men's water polo team is headed to the NCAA Water Polo Championships, thanks to a 14-12 victory over Long Beach State in the Golden Coast Conference Championship final on Sunday. Balazs Kosa led the Waves with four goals. Kosa and Chris Dilworth were named to the All-Tournament team, while Sean Thomas was named tournament MVP.
The Waves (24-7) were outscored by the Beach (18-13) in the second-half, but an offensive onslaught in the first half gave the Waves enough cushion to win their second ever GCC Championship.
GAME RECAP
The first quarter was an exciting, back and forth affair between the two teams. The Waves got on the board first thanks to a Dilworth (Thousand Oaks, Calif./Thousand Oaks HS) goal. Long Beach scored twice in a row before Sean Ferrari (Redwood City, Calif./St. Francis HS) got his first goal of the game to tie it up. Kaden Kaneko (Huntington Beach, Calif./Mater Dei HS) tied the game at three with 2:04 left in the first, only to have his goal answered by Beach. Dilworth then scored to again tie the game, but the Beach scored to take a 5-4 lead into the second quarter.
Pepperdine took the game over in the second, allowing only a single goal for the Beach. Kosa opened the scoring in the second, and was followed quickly by Ferrari's second goal of the game. Mate Toth (Balatonalmadi, Hungary/Szilagyi Erzsebet Boarding School) scored his lone goal to put the Waves up 7-5 and was joined by Coleman Carpenter (Pleasant Hill, Calif./College Park HS) and Thomas (Covina, Calif./Loyola HS) before the Beach scored their lone goal of the quarter. At the half, the Waves led 9-6.
The Beach started off hot in the second half, scoring three goals to start. Thomas then retook the lead with a goal. The Beach tied the game before Jake Gordon (Seattle, Wash./Nathan Hale HS) gave the Waves a 11-10 lead going into the final eight minutes.
Kosa started the fourth with a goal and gave the Waves a 12-10 lead. After the Beach scored to get within one, Kosa scored again. Then, after Long Beach got back to within one goal, Kosa scored with three seconds left, securing the victory and trip to the NCAA Championships.
STATS
SCORING: PEPP—4—5—2—3—14 ; LBSU—5—1—4—2—12
GOALS: PEPP— Kosa (4), Dilworth (2), Ferrari (2), Thomas (2), Carpenter, Gordon, Kaneko, Toth ; LBSU— Stewart (4), Real Vergara (3), Bakic, Morris, Pateros, Wainberg, Zaan
SAVES: PEPP— Marco (10) ; LBSU— Darwish (7)
UP NEXT
The Waves await the NCAA tournament bracket to see who they will take on in the Tournament. The NCAA Championships will take place at the Chris Kjeldsen Aquatic Center on the campus of the University of Pacific in Stockton, Calif.
