MALIBU, Calif. – The #4 Pepperdine men's water polo team took care of business as they defeated PCH Cup rival #16 Loyola Marymount 15-12 in the home opener at
Raleigh Runnels Memorial Pool on Saturday afternoon.
The Waves outshot the Lions .517 to .353 and were led by
Jon Carcarey and
Christian Hosea who both tallied hat-tricks on the day.
BIG WAVES
- Sophomore utility Jon Carcarey (Santa Maria, Calif.) posted four goals, one assist and three drawn exclusions in the game.
- Freshman attacker Erik Ionescu (Budapest, Hungary) had a team-high six points with four assists and two goals against the Lions.
- Fifth year attacker Christian Hosea (San Clemente, Calif.) notched three goals for a hat-trick as well as one assist.
- Freshman goalie Jaxon Leach (San Diego, Calif.) recorded 10 saves and four steals against Loyola Marymount.
RECAP
Adam Csapo (Budapest, Hungary),
Milo Joseph (Malibu, Calif.) and Hosea scored the first three goals of the game to give the Waves an early 3-0 advantage over the Lions. Loyola Marymount would counter with a couple goals of their own, but Csapo's second goal of the game gave Pepperdine a 4-2 lead after the first quarter.
Back-to-back goals from the Lions tied the game 4-4 with 6:04 left in the half, but another three-goal run by Pepperdine including two scores from Carcarey put the Waves back in front 7-4. Loyola Marymount would convert on a 6-on-5 to make the score 7-5 in favor of Pepperdine heading into the break.
After a scoreless first four minutes of the third quarter, Hosea found the back of the net to put the Waves in front 8-5. The Lions countered, but Joseph and Carcarey scored back-to-back goals to give Pepperdine a three-goal advantage heading into the final quarter, 10-7.
Dane Howell (Huntington Beach, Calif.), Carcarey and Ionescu all found goals in the final period to help propel the Waves to a 14-9 lead with 4:19 left to play. A couple more stops from the Pepperdine defense helped seal the game and the Waves would ultimately defeat the Lions 15-12 in the home opener.
LMU 2-3-2-5 — 12
PEPP 4-3-3-5 —15
Pepperdine goals:
Jon Carcarey 4,
Christian Hosea 3,
Adam Csapo 2,
Erik Ionescu 2,
Milo Joseph 2,
Sandor Gal 1,
Dane Howell 1.
UP NEXT
Pepperdine will make a short road trip to face off against #3 USC at Uytengsu Aquatics Center in a top-five matchup tomorrow at 1 p.m.