MALIBU, California – The #9 Pepperdine men's water polo team battled #1 UCLA to a near standstill for a half, but the Bruins pulled away in the second half for an 18-10 non-conference victory on Sunday.
The Waves (13-9) and Bruins (16-1) were tied at seven midway through the second quarter. But UCLA went up 10-8 at halftime and outscored Pepperdine 8-2 in the second half.
BIG WAVES
- Senior utility Sean Ferrari (Redwood City, Calif./St. Francis HS) scored a team-high three goals. It was his third time this season scoring three or more goals.
- Senior attacker Balazs Kosa (Budapest, Hungary) added two goals. It was his 11th multi-goal game of the season.
- Senior goalie John Claude Marco (Atherton, Calif./Sacred Heart Prep) made eight saves, including two stops on 5-meter penalty shots.
GAME RECAP
Sophomore attacker
Jake Howerton (Cardiff, Calif./Cathedral Catholic HS) scored on the game's first possession, but UCLA would end up taking leads of 4-2, 5-3 and 7-4. The Waves came roaring back, getting an equal-strength goal from Kosa and 6-on-5 goals from junior utility
Kaden Kaneko (Huntington Beach, Calif./Mater Dei HS) and sophomore attacker
Anthony D'Ambra (Rolling Hills, Calif./Palos Verdes HS) to tie the contest at seven with 4:50 to go in the half. The Bruins would score the next three goals, but Ferrari got one back in the final seconds to make it 10-8 at the break. Unfortunately, the Waves couldn't keep pace with the Bruins in the second half and only Kosa and Ferrari got on the scoreboard in the final 16 minutes.
UCLA 6-4-4-4---18
PEPP 4-4-1-1---10
Pepperdine goals: Sean Ferrari 3,
Balazs Kosa 2,
Anthony D'Ambra 1,
Michael Dakis 1,
Jake Howerton 1,
Kaden Kaneko 1,
Travis Reynolds 1.
UP NEXT
Pepperdine heads to Northern California next weekend. The Waves visit UC Davis for a non-conference game on Friday (Oct. 29) at 2 p.m., and then resume Golden Coast Conference play at San Jose State on Saturday (Oct. 30) at 1 p.m.
