MALIBU, Calif. — Playing in its first home doubleheader of the season, the #4 Pepperdine men's water polo team beat Westcliff 27-10 in the morning, then gutted out a 13-8 win over #11 UC Santa Barbara on Thursday evening.

In the first game against NAIA institution Westcliff, the Waves (7-1) showed off their depth as 14 different players found the back of the net. Then against the Gauchos (7-4), the Waves out-shot their regional rival .500 to .276. With the victory, the Waves are now 4-1 against ranked foes this year.
 
BIG WAVES

• In the first game sophomore attacker Conor Brough (Dana Point, Calif./Orange Lutheran HS) had a season-high five goals along with a season-high four assists.
• Against Westcliff, sophomore attacker Adam Csapo (Budapest, Hungary/BME International Secondary School) had a hat trick in the second quarter and tallied a total of three goals and one assist.
• Curtis Jarvis (Huntington Beach, Calif./Huntington Beach HS) had a hand in five of the Waves' 13 goals against UCSB, as he led the team with a hat trick and assisted on two others. 
• In the second game, Sandor Gal (Budapest, Hungary/Leovey Klara Gimnazium) led the team with three assists while scoring once.
• Nico Tierney (Sierra Madre, Calif./Harvard-Westlake HS) scored twice in Pepperdine's win over UCSB for his fourth multi-goal game of the season.

GAME ONE RECAP

The Waves jumped out to a quick 2-0 lead in the first minute after goals from Ryan Brosnan and Sandor Gal. Westcliff then scored a goal to bring them within one, but Pepperdine added a few more goals to take a 5-2 lead into the second quarter. Pepperdine began their offensive onslaught in the second period. Adam Csapo had a hat trick in the period and the Waves scored nine goals in the quarter to take a 14-6 lead into halftime. A slower paced third quarter was highlighted by Zach Cwiertnia who held the Warriors scoreless in the period. Pepperdine continued their success in the fourth quarter and held on to win the game 27-10. Three Waves made their season debut: Tanner Turrall, Adam Humbert and Ryan Reagan. Turrall scored two goals, Humbert scored one goal, and Reagan also scored once. Conor Brough led the way in scoring by finding the back of the net a season-high five times, and a total of 14 Waves scored in the game. 

WEST 2-4-0-4 — 10
PEPP 5-9-3-10—27
 
Pepperdine goals: Conor Brough 5, Adam Csapo 3, Dane Howell 3, Curtis Jarvis 2, Milo Joseph 2, Clay Kaneko 2, Tanner Turrall 2, Chase Wilson 2, Ryan Brosnan 1, Anthony D'Ambra 1, Sandor Gal 1, Adam Humbert 1, Ryan Reagan 1, Matty Walsh 1
 
GAME #2 RECAP
 
In a matchup between two longtime regional rivals, the Gauchos got on the board first at the 5:58 mark in the first quarter. Yet the Waves closed the quarter on a 4-0 run thanks to a pair of goals from Curtis Jarvis, a power play goal from Chase Wilson and another from Nico Tierney with less than a minute in the quarter.

Like they did in the first quarter, the Gauchos opened up the second quarter with a quick goal to make it a 4-2 game, but Jarvis' scored his third goal of the night and Sandor Gal found the back of the net as time expired to put Pepperdine up 6-2. From that point forward, the Gauchos would only pull within two goals of the Waves. Led by reigning WCC Player of the Week Antonio Knez in goal, the Pepperdine defense held UCSB scoreless for 4 minutes and 19 seconds until the Gauchos scored a pair of goals in short succession to make it a 6-4 game with 2:02 to play in the half. Pepperdine would go up 7-4 at the break thanks to Kaden Kaneko's goal with under a minute to play.

In the third quarter, Pepperdine doubled up UCSB when Gal found Matty Walsh on a fast break with 7:13 to go. The Waves didn't relent. Pepperdine took a 11-4 lead — its largest of the night — off a penalty goal from Anthony D'Ambra with 3:22 left in the quarter. Despite going on a 3-0 run that extended in to the fourth quarter, the Gauchos' efforts to claw back in the game were thwarted in a low-scoring final frame. Ryan Brosnan and Tierney found the back of the net to give Pepperdine a 13-7 lead, then UCSB scored one final time with less than 90 seconds remaining.
 
UCSB 1-3-2-2— 8
PEPP 4-3-4-2— 13

Pepperdine goals: Curtis Jarvis 3, Nico Tierney 2, Ryan Brosnan 1, Adam Csapo 1, Anthony D'Ambra 1, Sandor Gal 1, Clay Kaneko 1, Matty Walsh 1, Chase Wilson 1,
 
UP NEXT
 
The Waves will face off against Cal Maritime and Cal State Fullerton on Sunday Sept. 17 at Raleigh Runnels Memorial Pool at noon and 5 p.m.