DAVIS, California – The #10 Pepperdine men's water polo team overcame two-goal deficits both in the final minute of regulation and in the final minute of double overtime, then went on to get a game-winner by
Nicholas Fichman in sudden death to beat #8 UC Davis, 13-12, in non-conference play on Friday.
Pepperdine (14-9) evened the game with four seconds left in the fourth quarter on a five-meter penalty by
Balazs Kosa to get it to overtime. At the end of the second OT,
Christian Hosea scored on a 7-on-6 with four seconds remaining to extend the game into sudden death.
The final score was the only time all game that the Waves led the Aggies (14-7).
BIG WAVES
- Senior goalie John Claude Marco (Atherton, Calif./Sacred Heart Prep) tied his career high with 17 saves, and stopped a five-meter penalty in the second quarter.
- Senior utility Sean Ferrari (Redwood City, Calif./St. Francis HS) had a team-high three goals.
- Senior attacker Balazs Kosa (Budapest, Hungary) had two goals and four assists.
- Senior center Nicholas Fichman (Sao Paulo, Brazil/Golden West College) and sophomore attacker Jake Howerton (Cardiff, Calif./Cathedral Catholic HS) both scored two goals.
GAME RECAP
After the Aggies scored the game's first two goals, the Waves quickly tied it at two. UC Davis repeatedly went back in front, but Pepperdine tied the score at three, four and five. Then the Waves went more than nine minutes without scoring, however, and UC Davis went ahead by three at 8-5 with 6:12 left in the third quarter. The Aggies still led by three at 9-6 late in the third.
It was 9-7 at the start of the fourth quarter. Pepperdine put on an impressive defensive performance for the next eight minutes, holding UC Davis without a goal in the period. But for seven minutes, the Waves were stuck on seven goals. Finally, with 56 seconds left, Howerton made it a one-goal game. The Waves got a stop, and on their final possession of regulation, Hosea (San Clements, Calif./San Clemente HS) drew a five-meter penalty, and Kosa converted with four seconds left.
UC Davis went up 11-10 after the first overtime period, and led 12-10 with under two minutes to go. Once again, the Waves had the ball, down two with under a minute to play. Sophomore attacker
Anthony D'Ambra (Rolling Hills, Calif./Palos Verdes HS) scored on the power play with 47 seconds left. After another stop, the Waves pulled their goalie and ran a 7-on-6, which resulted in a Hosea goal with four seconds remaining and a 12-12 tie.
Moving to sudden death, both teams turned the ball over on their first possession, but the Waves ended it on their second when Fichman scored from two meters.
UCD 4-3-2-0-2-1-0---12
PEPP 3-2-2-2-1-2-1---13
Pepperdine goals: Sean Ferrari 3,
Nicholas Fichman 2,
Jake Howerton 2,
Balazs Kosa 2,
Anthony D'Ambra 1,
Christian Hosea 1,
Kaden Kaneko 1,
Austin Smit 1.
UP NEXT
Pepperdine's weekend trip to Northern California continues with a Golden Coast Conference game at San Jose State on Saturday (Oct. 30) at 1 p.m.
