BERKELEY, California – The #12 Pepperdine men's water polo team pounded #13 UC Irvine, 18-10, to claim 11th place at the MPSF Invitational on Sunday.
The 18 goals by the Waves (7-7) were the most ever scored by either one of the teams in a rivalry that spans 123 games. The eight-goal margin of victory was Pepperdine's biggest over UCI (6-5) since 2001.
BIG WAVES
- Seven different Waves scored twice: senior utility Sean Ferrari (Redwood City, Calif./St. Francis HS), senior center Nicholas Fichman (Sao Paulo, Brazil/Golden West College), sophomore attacker Jake Howerton (Cardiff, Calif./Cathedral Catholic HS), freshman attacker Clay Kaneko (Huntington Beach, Calif./Mater Dei HS), junior utility Kaden Kaneko (Huntington Beach, Calif./Mater Dei HS), sophomore center Travis Reynolds (Rolling Hills Estates, Calif./Loyola HS) and sophomore center Nico Tierney (Sierra Madre, Calif./Harvard-Westlake HS).
- Senior attacker Balazs Kosa (Budapest, Hungary) and freshman attacker Kyle Thomas (Covina, Calif./Loyola HS) both had three assists.
- Senior goalie John Claude Marco (Atherton, Calif./Sacred Heart Prep) made a career-high-tying 17 saves.
GAME RECAP
A high-scoring first quarter saw the Waves go in front 6-5 at the first period break. But Pepperdine clamped down defensively from there, allowing UCI only five more goals total the rest of the way. And, the Waves scored six more times in the second quarter to go up 12-7 at the half. Pepperdine scored seven consecutive goals over the second and third quarters, two of them by Howerton, to go ahead 16-7 late in the third period. The Anteaters were held scoreless for nearly 11 minutes during that span. A goal by sophomore attacker
Christian Hosea (San Clements, Calif./San Clemente HS) made it a 10-goal game at 18-8 midway through the fourth quarter.
UCI 5-2-1-2---10
PEPP 6-6-4-2---18
Pepperdine goals: Sean Ferrari 2,
Nicholas Fichman 2,
Jake Howerton 2,
Clay Kaneko 2,
Kaden Kaneko 2,
Travis Reynolds 2,
Nico Tierney 2,
Zach Arthur 1,
Anthony D'Ambra 1,
Christian Hosea 1,
Kyle Thomas 1.
UP NEXT
Pepperdine plays two games in the Gary Troyer Tournament next Saturday (Oct. 2), visiting Pomona-Pitzer at 11:30 a.m. and Claremont-Mudd-Scripps at 4:30 p.m. Then, the Waves host California on Sunday (Oct. 3) at 1 p.m.
