MALIBU, Calif. – The #5 Pepperdine men's water polo team had a dominant showing on Saturday, defeating #10 Air Force 22-12 at Raleigh Runnels Memorial Pool.
Three different Waves (7-2), Nico Tierney, Jake Howerton and Nicholas Fichmann had hat tricks, as the Waves were too much for the Falcons (4-5) all day.
PLAY-BY-PLAY
The first half was all Waves, all the time, as Pepperdine started the game on a 6-0 goal run before Air Force got its first of the game. Balazs Kosa (Csik Ferenc Általános Iskola és Gimnázium) had two goals, as did Tierney (Sierra Madre, Calif./Harvard Westlake HS) in the first five minutes of play. Austin Smit (San Diego, Calif./Cathedral Catholic) added one of his own, as did Michael Dakis (Orinda, Calif./Miramonte HS), who converted a five-meter penalty. Christian Hosea (San Clemente, Calif./San Clemente HS) and Coleman Carpenter (Pleasant Hill, Calif./College Park HS) both added goals at the end of the quarter, as the Waves led 8-1 after the first eight minutes. The second quarter was much of the same, as Dakis and Smit opened the quarter with goals before Howerton (Cardiff, Calif./Cathedral Catholic HS) each scored. Zach Arthur (Redlands, Calif./Redlands East Valley HS) joined in on the goal scoring action and Fichmann (São Paulo, Brazil/Orange Coast College) got his first of three goals on the day, giving the Waves a 13-3 lead at the half.
In the second half, the Waves continued their goal scoring show out, as Howerton scored twice to complete his hat trick, as did Tierney. Andrew Outcalt (Pacific Palisades, Calif./Oaks Christian HS) scored his first collegiate goal, and the Waves led 18-9 with eight minutes to play. In the final period, Fichmann scored twice to complete his hat trick, and Anthony D'Ambra (Rolling Hills, Calif./Palos Verdes HS) scored twice quickly at the end of the game to secure the 10-goal victory for the Waves.
STATS
SCORING: PEPP—8—5—5—4—22 ; USAF—1—2—6—3—12
GOALS: PEPP— Tierney (4), Fichmann (3), Howerton (3), D'Ambra (2), Kosa (2), Smit (2), Arthur, Carpenter, Hosea, A. Outcalt ; USAF— Snyder (5), Christie (3), Harris, Hiroji, Shephard, Tanis
SAVES: PEPP— Marco: 2 ; USAF— Kuypers (4), Tolbert (3)
UP NEXT
The Waves head to Los Angeles tomorrow, taking on Loyola Marymount at 11 a.m.
