SAN DIEGO, Calif — No. 7 Pepperdine water polo (2-0) picked up victories over No. 20 Navy (0-2) and Pomona-Pitzer (0-2) in its first games of the 2025 season at the Triton Invite hosted by UC San Diego.
 
The Waves defeated Navy by a score of 14-12 in the season opener before collecting a 14-8 win over Pomona-Pitzer. 
 
Sandor Gal paced the Waves with four goals in each game to go along with five total steals on the day. 
 
Dane Howell posted four goals in the opener, all coming in the second half to propel Pepperdine to the victory over Navy. Cade Anderton added a pair of goals with an assist to help lead the way in game two.
 
Jaxon Leach earned the win in goal against the Midshipmen, making 11 saves on the day while Max Smirnov got the nod against the Sage Hens and also made 11 stops in a winning effort.
 
Freshmen Brian Barnuevo, Adam Blum, Csanád Bella, Max Burstein and Alex Piccin each scored their first collegiate goals while seeing action for the first time in a Pepperdine cap.

"I think the team played well together and stuck together," said head coach Merrill Moses following the two games. "We definitely have some kinks that we need to work out but that's how it always is at the beginning of the season and we want to be playing our best in November when we're competing for a conference championship and a spot at NCAAs. We played a lot of people today to see how they fit into our schemes and defenses. Every freshman that traveled played and we're excited about the progress of this team. My biggest thing is every game we get better and I think that we did that from the first game to the second game today. We played two very good opponents that are well coached and we're going to have a very tough day tomorrow, UC Davis is a very strong team with a lot of depth that is well coached and the same goes for San Diego at their home turf, they are a very well coached team with a lot of talent. This is a great weekend that tests us, playing four games in two days is always tough, but our team is ready for it, we've been preparing for it and we're going to focus on defense and getting better every day."
 
Game One: No. 7 Pepperdine 14, No. 20 Navy 12
The Waves allowed the opening goal of the game but Matty Walsh quickly answered 23 seconds later for the first Pepperdine goal of the season at the 6:25 mark of the first period. The two sides settled in offensively, with the Waves only other goal of the frame coming from the five-meter and Gal. Navy held a 3-2 advantage after eight minutes of play.
 
Pepperdine opened the second period with an extended 4-0 run, shutting out the Mids for the entire first half of the frame. Charles Warmington tied the game from the five-meter before goals from Walsh, Cade Anderton and Gal made it a 6-3 Waves lead.
 
Navy battled back just before the half with two goals of their own, pushing the halftime score to 6-5 in Pepperdine's favor.
 
The Waves' attack found its rhythm in the third, scoring three times in the opening three minutes through a tally from Gal and two from Howell. Navy kept it close with a pair of goals which made it a 9-7 game midway through the period, with Adam Yost finishing off a feed from Howell before Howell netted his hat trick to push the score to 11-7.
 
Navy got another one back on a five-meter attempt before Csanád Bella netted his first collegiate goal to give Pepperdine a dozen with 2:12 left in the third. The Waves eventually took a 12-9 lead into the final frame.
 
The Gal and Howell combination offensively continued to click for the Waves, with each scoring their fourth of the game which gave the Waves a 14-10 lead with 5:51 remaining. Leach and the Pepperdine defense held strong, holding the Midshipmen scoreless until the final minute of the game where Navy was able to push across two more, bringing the final score to 14-12.
 
Game Two: No. 7 Pepperdine 14, Pomona-Pitzer 8
The Waves fell behind 1-0 and 2-1 early, but goals from Gal and Carcarey led to the first career goal from Alex Piccin with ten seconds on the clock which gave the Waves a 3-2 advantage after one period of play.

Smirnov proved tough to beat for the Sage Hens in goal for the Waves, allowing just two goals once again in the second frame. Pepperdine was able to increase its lead as Walsh potted his third goal on the day which doubled the lead at 4-2. 

The veterans continued to step up with Gal scoring two more before the half while Howell added his fifth of the day as the Waves eventually took a 7-4 lead into halftime. 

The two sides went back and forth to begin the second half, with Pomona-Pitzer getting to within two goals on three straight occasions, but the Waves had an answer every time. Bella had the first response within the first minute with his second career goal while Cade Anderton and Gal had the next two responses. Anderton added his second goal of the game soon after which put the Waves ahead 11-7 heading into the final frame.

Brian Barnuevo got the scoring started in the fourth for the Waves with his first collegiate tally, becoming the third freshman Wave on the day to find the scoresheet. The Sage Hens found a goal with 4:22 remaining to bring the score to 12-8, but Pepperdine would not allow anything else through. Adam Blum and Max Burstein would make it five freshmen to find the back of the cage in the closing minutes, bringing the final score to 14-8.
 
Game Notes

• Pepperdine starts the season with a 2-0 record for the fourth straight season with today's doubleheader sweep.
• The Waves improve to 13-1 in the all-time series against Navy.
• Pepperdine moves to 23-0 all-time against Pomona-Pitzer.
• The Waves had a .519 shot-percentage in the win over Pomona-Pitzer to go along with a five-for-eight conversion rate on the six-on-five advantage.
• Sandor Gal scored eight goals on the day with five steals, pacing the Waves with four goals in each game. 
• Dane Howell recorded four second half goals against Navy and finished the day with six points through five goals and a helper.
• Cade Anderton deposited three goals on the day while dishing out an assist.
• Matty Walsh returned to action with a pair of goals against Navy while adding a third against teh Sage Hens.
• Charles Warmington tallied a goal with two assists and a steal on the day for the Waves.
• Jon Carcarey posted four steals to go with a goal and assist to begin his junior campaign.
• Csanád Bella began his collegiate career with a goal in each of his first two games.
• Jaxon Leach tallied 11 saves to go along with three assists in goal for the Waves against Navy.
• Max Smirnov totaled 11 saves with eight goals allowed to pick up the win in goal versus Pomona-Pitzer.

The Waves will return tomorrow for two more contests at the Triton Invite. The day will begin against No. 14 UC Davis at noon before taking on No. 12 UC San Diego at 4:00 p.m. The matchup with the Tritons will be streamed live 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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