LONG BEACH, California – The #10 Pepperdine men's water polo team pushed #5 Long Beach State to the game's final possession, but the Beach was able to hold off the Waves 12-11 in Golden Coast Conference play on Saturday night.
LBSU (18-5, 4-0) clinched the GCC regular-season title. The Waves fell to 14-11, 1-3.
BIG WAVES
- Senior attacker Balazs Kosa (Budapest, Hungary) had a team-high three goals.
- Senior center Nicholas Fichman (Sao Paulo, Brazil/Golden West College) and sophomore center defender Nico Tierney (Sierra Madre, Calif./Harvard-Westlake HS) both scored two goals.
- Senior goalie John Claude Marco (Atherton, Calif./Sacred Heart Prep) made 10 saves.
GAME RECAP
Kosa scored twice in the first quarter to help give the Waves a 4-3 lead after the first eight minutes. The Waves then fell behind 6-4, but goals by Tierney and Fichman made it 6-6 at halftime. Junior utility
Kaden Kaneko (Huntington Beach, Calif./Mater Dei HS) gave Pepperdine its final lead at 8-7 midway through the third quarter, but the Beach scored the next three goals to go back in front 10-8.
Fichman tied the game at 10 early in the fourth quarter, but the Waves went scoreless for the next six minutes and the Beach went up by two at 12-10. Sophomore attacker
Christian Hosea (San Clements, Calif./San Clemente HS) scored with 58 seconds left to make it a one-goal game. After a defensive stop the Waves had one last chance to tie the game, but they weren't successful and time ran out.
LBSU 3-3-4-2---12
PEPP 4-2-3-2---11
Pepperdine goals: Balazs Kosa 3,
Nicholas Fichman 2,
Nico Tierney 2,
Sean Ferrari 1,
Christian Hosea 1,
Kaden Kaneko 1,
Max Sprute 1.
UP NEXT
The Waves close out the regular season at UC Santa Barbara next Saturday (Nov. 13) at 12 p.m.
