MALIBU, Calif – No. 12 Pepperdine water polo (5-3) will take on No. 11 UC Davis (3-4) on Friday at 1:30 p.m. from Spieker Aquatics Center at UCLA to open the MPSF Invite. The tournament will feature each team playing four games across three days, with contests hosted by both UCLA and USC.

Pepperdine was drawn into group A with No. 1 UCLA, No. 11 UC Davis and Redlands. With a win over the Aggies on Friday, the Waves would take on the winner of No. 1 UCLA versus Redlands at 8:00 a.m. on Saturday at UCLA. With a loss to UC Davis, the Waves would travel to USC on Saturday to play the loser between No. 1 UCLA and Redlands at 8:00 a.m. Pepperdine will play one game on Friday, two on Saturday and one on Sunday, regardless of any game outcomes. Friday's result will determine if the Waves are at UCLA or USC on both Saturday and Sunday.

All games in the tournament will be streamed live on overnght.com (subscription required) with live stats available on either 6-8sports.com (MPSF opponents) or the FOSH.

Schools competing for the tournament title include UCLA, UC Davis, Pepperdine, Redlands, USC, Princeton, UC San Diego, Claremont-Mudd-Scripps, Cal, UC Irvine, LMU, UC Santa Barbara, Stanford, Long Beach State, Cal Baptist and Santa Clara.

TOURNAMENT CENTRAL | FULL SCHEDULE | WATCH | LIVE STATS
 

LAST TIME OUT

• The Waves fell 19-8 at No. 1 UCLA this past Saturday.
• The Bruins jumped out to an 8-2 lead and led wire-to-wire.
• Dane Howell and Cade Anderton potted two goals to lead the Waves.

SERIES HISTORY

• The Waves hold a 30-6 advantage in the all-time series with the Aggies. 
• UC Davis won the meeting earlier this season at the Triton Invite by a score of 13-9.
• The two sides met in the 2023 MPSF Invite, with the Waves coming away with a 15-11 win.
• Pepperdine holds a 24-4 record in neutral site games with the Aggies.

GAME NOTES

• Dane Howell has led the Waves with 20 goals and 25 points this season.
• Howell has recorded a goal in every game this season including the sudden death overtime winner against No. 19 UCSB.
• Matty Walsh joins Howell as the lone Waves to score in every game this season.
• Walsh has posted 14 goals while starting every game at center to begin the campaign.
• Sandor Gal has led Pepperdine with 10 assists this season to go along with 12 goals and 10 steals.
• Jon Carcarey has anchored the defense for the Waves with a team-high 12 steals while adding five goals and four assists.
• Erik Ionescu has posted eight goals and seven assists in six games played including a season-high five goals and two assists in the win over No. 19 UCSB.
• Max Smirnov has made four starts in five appearances to the tune of a .456 save-percentage and 10.88 GAA in the cage.
• Brian Barnuevo has made an instant impact with four goals and nine points in his first eight collegiate contests.
• Csanád Bella has recorded five goals to pace the freshman class.
• The Waves enter with a 2-1 record in neutral site contests this season.
• Pepperdine is 3-3 on the season against ranked opponents.
• The Waves are 2-1 against the Big West in 2025.
• Pepperdine is 5-1 when scoring 10 or more goals this season.

SCOUTING THE OPPONENT

• The Aggies enter play with a 3-4 record on the season and a three-game losing streak.
• All four of the losses on the season have come against top-six opponents.
• Sophomore Thomas Kiesling has led UC Davis with 13 goals on the season including five in the win over the Waves.
• Sophomore Baxter Chelsom has seen every minute in goal this season with a .464 save-percentage and 11.57 GAA.

The Waves will look ahead to a trip up the coast next, taking on No. 3 Cal (Sept. 27) and No. 4 Stanford (Sept. 28) on the road.

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.

TICKETS
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