IRVINE, California – The #9 Pepperdine men's water polo team saw its season come to an end with a 10-8 loss to #8 San Jose State in the opening round of the Golden Coast Conference Championships on Friday night.
A six-goal outburst in the second quarter by the fourth-seeded Spartans (16-14) helped build a lead that the fifth-seeded Waves (14-13) could not overcome.
BIG WAVES
- Sophomore attacker Jake Howerton (Cardiff, Calif./Cathedral Catholic HS) and junior utility Kaden Kaneko (Huntington Beach, Calif./Mater Dei HS) each scored two goals for the Waves.
- Senior goalie John Claude Marco (Atherton, Calif./Sacred Heart Prep) recorded 12 saves.
GAME RECAP
Goals by Howerton and sophomore center defender
Nico Tierney (Sierra Madre, Calif./Harvard-Westlake HS) put the Waves up 2-1 after the first period. It was tied 4-4 late in the second, but the Spartans scored three goals in the final 2 1/2 minutes to go ahead 7-4 at halftime. They extended the run to five straight goals and the lead to 9-4 before Howerton got his second goal with 4 1/2 minutes left in the third quarter. It was 10-6 with 5 1/2 minutes to play in regulation, and though Pepperdine held San Jose State scoreless the rest of the way, the Waves could only cut the deficit in half before time ran out.
SJSU 1-6-2-1---10
PEPP 2-2-1-3---8
Pepperdine goals: Jake Howerton 2,
Kaden Kaneko 2,
Anthony D'Ambra 1,
Sean Ferrari 1,
Nicholas Fichman 1,
Nico Tierney 1.
