SAN JOSE, California – The #10 Pepperdine men's water polo team's comeback effort fell short on Saturday afternoon as #9 San Jose State held off the Waves,11-9, in Golden Coast Conference action.
The Waves (14-10, 1-2) trailed by seven midway through the third quarter but pared the deficit down to two before the Spartans (15-12, 2-2) prevailed.
BIG WAVES
- Senior attacker Balazs Kosa (Budapest, Hungary) and sophomore center Travis Reynolds (Rolling Hills Estates, Calif./Loyola HS) both scored three goals. Reynolds tied his career high.
- Senior utility Sean Ferrari (Redwood City, Calif./St. Francis HS) had two goals.
- Senior goalie John Claude Marco (Atherton, Calif./Sacred Heart Prep) made nine saves.
GAME RECAP
The Waves got off to an extremely slow start, scoring just one goal in the first 14 minutes. The Spartans took an 8-1 lead before a Ferrari goal late in the second period ended up making it 8-2 at halftime.
San Jose State also led at 9-2 and 10-3 in the third quarter, but then the Waves turned things around. Goals by Reynolds, Kosa and junior center
Austin Smit (San Diego, Calif./Cathedral Catholic HS) made it 10-6 at the end of the third period. SJSU scored the next goal to go up by five, but Reynolds scored two more goals and Kosa netted one with 1:59 left to make it 11-9.
The Waves successfully handled a two-goal deficit late in regulation on Friday at UC Davis en route to a 13-12 sudden-death victory, but couldn't do it two days in a row. The Waves went scoreless on their final three possessions and ran out of time.
SJSU 5-3-2-1---11
PEPP 1-1-4-3---9
Pepperdine goals: Balazs Kosa 3,
Travis Reynolds 3,
Sean Ferrari 2,
Austin Smit 1.
UP NEXT
Two games remain in the regular season. Pepperdine plays at Long Beach State next Saturday (Nov. 6) at 7 p.m.
