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Pepperdine University Athletics

Christian Hosea
Jeff Golden
10
Winner California CAL (6-0)
9
Pepperdine PEP (5-0)
Winner
California CAL
(6-0)
10
Final
9
Pepperdine PEP
(5-0)
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 OT OT F
California CAL 3 1 3 2 0 1 10
Pepperdine PEP 2 3 1 3 0 0 9

Game Recap: Men's Water Polo |

#8 Waves Come up Short to #1 California in Double Overtime

MALIBU, Calif. — The #8 Pepperdine men's water polo team took the defending national champion California Golden Bears to double overtime, yet the Waves fell 10-9 in their home opener at Raleigh Runnels Memorial Pool on Sunday.

The Waves (5-1) put the clamps down on the Golden Bears' (7-0) high-powered offense, limiting Cal to a season-low 10 goals on a .222 shooting percentage. On offense, Christian Hosea, Ryan Brosnan and Adam Csapo led Pepperdine with two goals each.

BIG WAVES

  • Senior attacker Christian Hosea (San Clemente, Calif./San Clemente HS) came up clutch, scoring both of his goals in the fourth quarter — including a goal with one second left to force overtime.

  • Graduate driver Ryan Brosnan (Newport Beach, Calif./Newport HarborHS/UC Santa Barbara) added two goals while taking a team-high 12 shots.

  • Sophomore attacker Adam Csapo (Budapest, Hungary) scored two goals for his fourth multi-goal game of the season.

  • Graduate goalie Antonio Knez (Dubrovnik, Croatia/Gimnazija Dubrovnik/Princeton) had 17 saves while posting a .630 save percentage. Despite the result, Knez held the Golden Bears to a season-low 10 goals.

GAME RECAP

California took a 2-0 lead in the first quarter before graduate driver Ryan Brosnan put the Waves on the board with 4:19 to play. The Golden Bears extended their two-goal lead several minutes later before Adam Csapo stole the ball and scored moments later on a fast break to make it a 3-2 game with one minute left in the quarter. 

The second quarter, however, was a tense affair. With 6:30 to play in the half, Csapo tied the game at three goals apiece, which drew a yellow card from the California bench. Momentum swung fully into Pepperdine's favor seconds later, as Brosnan scored his second goal of the game to give Pepperdine its first lead. The Golden Bears tied the game 4-4 off leading scorer Roberto Valera's second goal of the game, but junior center defender Nico Tierney (Sierra Madre, Calif./Harvard-Westlake HS) scored off a rebound to put the Waves up 5-4 going into halftime.

In the second half, California's offense roared back to life. After a Matty Walsh (Laguna Beach, Calif./Santa Margarita Catholic HS) goal put Pepperdine up 6-4 with 6:59 left in the frame, the Golden Bears responded with three goals to put them ahead 7-6. Both teams struggled offensively for the majority of the fourth quarter until Anthony D'Ambra (Rolling Hills, Calif./Palos Verdes HS) tied the game at seven with 3:55 to go. Christian Hosea scored the first of his two goals of the quarter to put Pepperdine up 8-7, however, back-to-back goals from California put the Waves' upset bid in jeopardy.

But on Pepperdine's last possession, Hosea answered the call. Out of the timeout, Hosea scored with one second remaining to force overtime against the defending national champions.

Although California out-shot Pepperdine 3-2 in the first overtime, neither team could find the back of the net as the game entered double-overtime. The Waves' defense held tough as the Golden Bears' first five shots were offline, yet with four seconds left, Golden Bears sophomore attacker Nik Mirkovic found senior center Nikolaos Papanikolaou, who scored the game-winner.

CAL 3-1-3-2-0-1—10
PEPP 2-3-1-3-0-0—9

Pepperdine goals: Ryan Brosnan 2, Adam Csapo 2, Christian Hosea 2, Anthony D'Ambra 1, Nico Tierney 1, Matty Walsh 1.

UP NEXT

The Waves continue their five-game homestand against Westcliff on Thursday, Sept. 14 at noon.

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