LONG BEACH, Calif. — No. 10. Pepperdine water polo (9-6) prevailed in sudden death overtime as Erik Ionescu scored the game-winning goal to down No. 9 Long Beach State (9-5) on Friday evening from LBCC Aquatics Complex.

The Waves led throughout before a late surge from the Beach sent the game into overtime, with each side scoring just once across the first six minutes to force the sudden death period.

Pepperdine capitalized on an offensive foul from Long Beach, finding the back of the cage on the second possession of the sudden death frame. The Waves' six-on-five defense was the story, holding the Beach to just a 1-for-14 power play conversion rate.

Jon Carcarey was dominant for the Waves with four goals, two assists, two field blocks and a steal while Max Smirnov remained steady in the cage for Pepperdine with 15 saves.

Adam Csapo made his season debut with a four-goal effort, as Matty Walsh added a hat trick to his ledger. Ionescu added six points on the day through three goals and three assists with the game-winning tally to end it.

"We as a coaching staff are very proud of the team and the effort they put into winning this game," said head coach Merrill Moses. "We started the game off strong and dominated the first half. Unfortunately, we let them back in the game in the second half and we will watch film and learn from our mistakes so that does not happen in the future. We have been training extremely hard and it is nice to see the training pay off. It was a great team win and I think our conditioning played a big part in us winning that game in sudden death overtime."

Pepperdine jumped out to an early 5-1 lead with Walsh scoring the first two of the game before Csapo notched his first score of the campaign in his first appearance. Csapo's tally came on the man-advantage as Sandor Gal added another power play score as time expired in the first to put the Waves ahead 6-2. 

Smirnov and the Pepperdine defense allowed an early score in the second but shut down the Beach for the final 7:08 of the half, to eventually take a 10-3 lead into the break.

The Beach came out and put up six goals in the third period, doubling its total from the first half. Csapo netted a pair in the frame while Carcarey added a key goal and the Waves led 13-9 heading into the final period.

Ionescu and Carcarey had back-to-back tallies in the fourth which made it a 15-11 score, but the Beach would not go away and tallied two goals in the final minute to send the game into overtime.

Long Beach struck first in the opening overtime frame, with Carcarey answering right back with his season-high fourth of the game to tie the game at 16. Neither side could find a winner in the second overtime, sending the game to sudden death.

The teams traded turnovers to begin the final overtime period, with Pepperdine then capitalizing 45 seconds in with Ionescu securing the victory for the Waves with his third goal of the game. 

The win marked the second sudden death victory of the season for Pepperdine.

Game Notes

• Erik Ionescu scored the game-winning goal 45 seconds into sudden death overtime.
• The Waves move to 2-1 in overtime games this season including 2-0 in sudden death.
• Ionescu totaled six points on the evening with three goals and three assists.
• Adam Csapo made his season debut and logged four goals with an assist.
• Jon Carcarey netted a season-high six points through four goals and a pair of helpers.
• Carcarey chipped in two field blocks defensively to go along with a steal.
• Matty Walsh deposited his fifth hat trick of the season.
• Walsh has registered 12 goals in his last four games.
• Max Smirnov made 15 stops in goal for the Waves.
• Smirnov has made double-digit saves in eight of 11 appearances this season.
• The Pepperdine defense held the Beach to just a 1-for-14 power play conversion rate.
• Jackson Benners and Owen Tift each added a pair of assists.
• Reed Pantaleon, Sandor Gal and Adam Blum contributed goals for the Waves.

Pepperdine will return for its WCC opener on Thursday at Cal Baptist with game time set for 5:30 p.m. on ESPN+.

ABOUT PEPPERDINE WATER POLO
Pepperdine water polo has seen success spanning decades under Terry Schroeder who gave the reins to Merrill Moses following the 2023 season. Highlighted by its national championship in 1997 with Moses as the starting goalie, the Waves have reached the NCAA Tournament on 13 occasions and recently won the inaugural WCC Regular Season Championship in 2023. Overall, the program has seen 60 athletes garner All-American honors while boasting a winning record in 36 of 50 seasons.

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