MALIBU, California – Behind three goals from Nicholas Fichman and 10 saves by John Claude Marco, the #9 Pepperdine men's water polo team won its seventh straight game with a 9-6 victory over #14 UC Irvine on Saturday.
 
It was also the Golden Coast Conference opener for the Waves (13-7, 1-0) and the Anteaters (7-8, 0-1). The Waves have now won five in a row and eight of the last 10 against UCI.
 
BIG WAVES

• Senior center Nicholas Fichman (Sao Paulo, Brazil/Golden West College) scored two of his game-high three goals in the first period, then netted the Waves' final goal in the fourth quarter.
• Senior attacker Balazs Kosa (Budapest, Hungary) had a pair of goals for the Waves, plus four assists.
• Senior goalie John Claude Marco (Atherton, Calif./Sacred Heart Prep) posted his seventh game of the season with double-digit saves.

GAME RECAP
 
Fichman and sophomore attacker Jake Howerton (Cardiff, Calif./Cathedral Catholic HS) powered the Waves to a 2-0 lead after just two minutes, and sophomore center defender Nico Tierney (Sierra Madre, Calif./Harvard-Westlake HS) made it 5-1 late in the first period. Pepperdine held UCI scoreless in the second period and took a 7-2 lead at the break after goals by Kosa and senior utility Sean Ferrari (Redwood City, Calif./St. Francis HS).
 
The Waves went quiet in the third quarter, but UCI only got one goal back to make it 7-3. But Pepperdine's drought continued into the fourth quarter, and the Anteaters scored twice more to make things interesting, as it was a two-goal game with less than six minutes to play.
 
Neither team scored for the next three minutes, and the Waves finally turned things around as Kosa finished off a fast break with 2:40 left to put Pepperdine ahead 8-5. Fichman scored his third goal with 42 seconds left to make it 9-5. UCI scored late to account for the final margin.
 
UCI 2-0-1-3---6
PEPP 5-2-0-2---9
Pepperdine goals: Nicholas Fichman 3, Balazs Kosa 2, Sean Ferrari 1, Jake Howerton 1, Travis Reynolds 1, Nico Tierney 1.
 
QUOTABLE
 
Pepperdine Coach Terry Schroeder said: "We started out really strong. We came out and scored some big goals and looked really good in the beginning. Then we took our foot off the gas a little bit and let them back into the game. We've got to learn to play with that intensity for all four quarters. Defensively, we were strong throughout the game, and when you allow a good team only six goals that's a pretty solid performance. UOP has always been a tough game, so next weekend our final home game will be a real battle."
 
UP NEXT
 
Pepperdine's final home game of the season is next Saturday (Oct. 23) against Pacific at 11 a.m. The GCC matchup will be the Waves' Senior Day. The contest will be streamed online via WaveCasts.