LOS ANGELES — No. 12 Pepperdine water polo (7-4) picked up a 25-11 victory over Redlands (1-10) before taking down No. 16 Cal Baptist (7-5) by a score of 17-10 at day two of the MPSF Invite from Uytengsu Aquatics Center on the campus of USC.
 
Pepperdine will return to USC tomorrow for the conclusion of the MPSF Invite, taking on Princeton at 12:45 p.m. in the ninth-place match for the tournament.

The Waves had a balanced attack in game one versus Redlands, scoring a season-high 25 goals with 14 different goalscorers. Matty Walsh, Cade Anderton and Erik Ionescu each deposited hat tricks while Sandor Gal paced the team with nine points behind a career-high seven assists.

The freshmen duo of Brian Barnuevo and Csanád Bella led the Waves in game two, each tabbing a career-high as Barnuevo netted five goals with four being credited to Bella. 

Jaxon Leach made seven saves in game one while Max Smirnov made six stops in the second game as each Pepperdine netminder logged a victory on the day.

"I'm very proud of our team today and how we played in both games," said head coach Merrill Moses. "We played with a lot of intensity on defense which led to a lot of production on the offensive end for our team. We are looking forward to playing a tough opponent tomorrow to finish the MPSF Invite."
 
Game One: No. 12 Pepperdine 25, Redlands 11
The two sides each started slow offensively in the 8 a.m. game which kicked off a total of eight games played at Uytengsu Aquatics Center, with a scoreless game through the first four minutes.

Pepperdine found its footing soon after, scoring five times in the closing minutes of the opening frame with Max Burstein leading the charge with a pair of goals. Redlands was able to muster one in the period, as the Waves led 5-1 early.

Alex Piccin and Adam Yost got the scoring started in the second, with Bella and Blum then answering a Bulldogs goal which eventually made it 9-2 in favor of Pepperdine. The Waves eventually led 10-4 at the half. Jaxon Leach held the Bulldogs at bay in the cage for the Waves, totaling seven saves.

The Waves offense was in sync throughout the second half, scoring 15 times in total. The biggest margin of any period in the game was the third, with Pepperdine outscoring the Bulldogs 7-2 to take a 17-6 lead into the fourth. Three of the Waves seven goals in the third came via the power play with two coming on five-meter penalties.

The fourth saw a high-scoring affair as the Waves continued to rack up goals on the way to a season-best 25. The final 90 seconds of the game saw Matty Walsh net his second and third of the game with Leach scoring the final of the game with a cross-pool heave as the Bulldogs left an empty cage.

Game Two: No. 12 Pepperdine 17, No. 16 Cal Baptist 10
Pepperdine jumped out to an early lead led by a suffocating defensive effort, holding the Lancers to just two shots on goal in the opening period. The Waves jumped out to a quick 4-0 lead, with early goals from Howell, Tift, Bella and Benners before CBU would find the back of the cage. Barnuevo and Gal made it six unique goalscorers for the Waves in the opening frame as Pepperdine took a 6-1 lead into the second.

Bella notched his hat trick in the second frame, as Gal and Carcarey added goals as well. The Lancers converted a penalty shot with five seconds remaining which made it a 10-4 contest heading into halftime.

The Lancers scored four times in the opening four minutes of the second half, but the Waves were able to maintain the multi-goal lead as Barnuevo notched a pair of goals which brought the score to 12-8 in favor of Pepperdine. Bella secured his career-high fourth of the game later in the third, as the Waves took a 14-8 lead into the final period following an Adam Blum goal with four seconds remaining.
 
The Lancers scored the first two of the final frame, but the Waves shut out CBU for the final five minutes of the game to squash any hopes of a comeback. The Waves ended the game on a 3-0 run, as Barnuevo scored his fourth and fifth goals of the contest, marking a new career-high for the freshman.
 
Game Notes

• Sandor Gal logged two goals and a career-high seven assists against Redlands while adding three points against CBU.
• Brian Barnuevo netted a career-best five goals against CBU after also finding the back of the cage in game one.
• Erik Ionescu recorded three goals and four assists in the win over Redlands.
• Matty Walsh netted a hat trick against the Bulldogs and drew four exclusions versus the Lancers.
• Jackson Benners added six points and three steals for the Waves on the day.
• Adam Yost tallied his first career multi-goal effort against Redlands.
• Csanád Bella logged two goals and three steals against Redlands before tallying a career-high four goals against Cal Baptist.
• Max Burstein and Cade Anderton each scored three goals on the day.
• Dane Howell and Alex Piccin contributed three-point efforts versus the Bulldogs, with Howell then notching two goals against CBU.
• Jaxon Leach made seven saves and scored a goal to help defeat Redlands.
• Max Smirnov made six saves to pick up the win over Cal Baptist.
• The Waves move to 4-4 against ranked opponents this season.
• Pepperdine is now 4-2 in neutral site contests.
• The Waves have outscored opponents 54-35 through three games of the MPSF Invite.

The Waves will return to Uytengsu Aquatics Center tomorrow at 12:45 p.m. for a matchup against Princeton. The full bracket and tournament schedule can be viewed here.

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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