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Pepperdine University Athletics

Water Polo Bench
17
Santa Clara SCU (9-14)
20
Winner Pepperdine PEP (17-10)
Santa Clara SCU
(9-14)
17
Final
20
Pepperdine PEP
(17-10)
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 F
Santa Clara SCU 2 4 4 7 17
Pepperdine PEP 2 8 3 7 20

Game Recap: Men's Water Polo |

No. 10 Water Polo Advances to WCC Semifinals with 20-17 Win Over No. 17 Santa Clara

U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. — No. 10 Pepperdine water polo (17-10, 3-3 WCC) took down No. 17 Santa Clara (9-14, 2-4 WCC) in the quarterfinals of the West Coast Conference Tournament Friday afternoon.

The third-seeded Waves will return tomorrow to take on the second-seeded San Jose State Spartans (12-7, 5-1 WCC) in a WCC semifinal matchup set for 1 p.m. MT / Noon PT.

Pepperdine used an eight-goal second period to pull away after the game was tied at two through the opening quarter.

Cade Anderton led the Waves with five goals to go along with an assist, steal and field block. Sandor Gal added six points through four goals and a pair of assists.

10 Waves found the back of the net in total, with Jackson Benners registering a career-high five points through two goals and three assists. Jon Carcarey and Matty Walsh each added a pair of goals in the effort while Erik Ionescu had a goal and five assists.

Max Smirnov made 13 stops for the Waves in the cage to go along with a pair of steals and assists to earn the victory.

"The team played well today and it was very beneficial to have the amount of depth that our team has for this tournament," said head coach Merrill Moses. "We will watch video and fine-tune some things on defense as we are not happy with giving up 17 goals. Things were clicking on the offensive end for us which is a good sign. We are excited to play in the semifinals tomorrow against a very physical and talented San Jose team."

The opening frame saw both teams needing time to settle in offensively, with the first goal of the game coming at the 4:03 mark as the Broncos got the first of the game. Csanàd Bella and Jacskon Benners answered with the next two, as a Santa Clara goal in the final minute made it a 2-2 game after one period of play.

The Broncos' Charlie Engs notched the first two goals of the second period, giving Santa Clara a 4-2 advantage with 6:24 to play until the half. The Waves offense then found its rhythm, scoring eight times in the final 5:55 of the half.

Walsh and Carcarey got the scoring started with a pair of extra man goals to even the score, as Dane Howell and Gal then made it a 4-0 Pepperdine run as the Waves led 6-4 with 2:53 to go before the break. Santa Clara answered with a goal, but Anderton notched the next two as the Waves continued to execute in both transition and their six-on-six offense.

Pepperdine led 8-6 entering the final minute of the half, getting two scores and two stops just before the break as Owen Tift and Benners found the back of the net to give Pepperdine an 10-6 lead at halftime.

The scoring slowed down to begin the second half, with Gal netting the first of the frame for Pepperdine at the 3:41 mark. Goals from Ionescu and Carcarey then gave the Waves a 14-8 lead, but the Broncos scored two just before the fourth period began, keeping within striking distance at 13-10.

The Waves had an answer for every Santa Clara goal in the fourth as the Broncos made their comeback attempt, as Anderton once again netted back-to-back tallies, pushing Pepperdine's lead to 16-12 with 4:42 remaining. The teams then traded goals with scores on five straight possessions, as Walsh and Charles Warmington put the Waves ahead 18-14 with under three minutes to play.

Santa Clara cut the lead down to two at 18-16 heading into the final minute, as the Waves got key stops down the stretch before depositing empty net goals through Anderton and Gal, bringing the final score to 20-17.

GAME NOTES
  • Cade Anderton had a game-high five goals, his second game of the season with five or more tallies.
  • Anderton added an assist, steal and field block in an all-around effort.
  • Sandor Gal deposited four goals while adding a pair of assists.
  • Erik Ionescu logged five assists and a goal for his tenth game this season with five or more points.
  • Jon Carcarey recorded two goals, two assists and a steal.
  • Max Smirnov made 13 saves with two assists and two steals to earn the victory in the cage.
  • Matty Walsh netted a pair of goals for his 19th multi-goal effort of the campaign.
  • Charles Warmington had a goal and two assists.
  • Warmington has had multiple points in six of 10 games.
  • Dane Howell, Owen Tift and Csanád Bella each contributed a goal.
  • Alex Piccin added two assists for the Waves.
  • The Waves reach the WCC Semifinals for the third consecutive season.
  • Pepperdine's 20 goals matched the single-game record for a WCC Tournament game.
  • The Waves increase their season-long winning streak to six games.
  • Pepperdine improves to 7-3 in neutral site games this season.
  • The Waves reached 20 goals in a game for the fifth time this season.
The Waves return tomorrow at 1 p.m. MT for a WCC semifinal matchup with San Jose State 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.

FOLLOW
To stay up-to-date on the latest Pepperdine water polo news, follow the Waves on social media @PepperdineMWP.

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