No. 11 Water Polo Drops MPSF Invite Opener to No. 9 UC San Diego

Friday, September 18

Palo Alto, Calif.

3:20 PM

Pepperdine University

4-6

UC San Diego

7-1

Team	1	2	3	4	Final F
Pepperdine	3	1	2	3	9
UC San Diego	3	1	4	2	10

No. 11 Water Polo Drops MPSF Invite Opener to No. 9 UC San Diego

9/18/2026 5:43:00 PM | Men's Water Polo

Box Score

PALO ALTO, Calif. — No. 11 Pepperdine water polo (4-7) was defeated by No. 9 UC San Diego (7-1) by a narrow score of 10-9 to open the MPSF Invite from Avery Aquatic Center on the campus of Stanford University.

Erik Ionescu led the Waves with three goals and an assist for his fourth consecutive multi-goal effort. Freshmen Hunter Danko and Ivan Khramtsov posted multiple goals for the Waves, with Conor Brough and Jackson Benners also finding the back of the net.

Khramtsov also paced the squad with two steals, while Csanad Bella drew a game-high five exclusions. Max Smirnov made seven saves to go with a steal in the cage for Pepperdine.

"The team played a hard fought battle today against a talented team," said head coach Merrill Moses. "The team played well on defense today, only allowing 10 goals. Unfortunately we did not have our best offensive game today. We will continue to learn and grow from our mistakes and look forward to continuing to play tomorrow in the MPSF Invite tournament."

The Tritons got out to an early 2-0 advantage with a counter-attack goal to begin followed by another tally less than three minutes in. Erik Ionescu then got the scoring started for the Waves before Ivan Khramtsov and Hunter Danko notched back-to-back scores which made it a 3-3 contest with 22 seconds remaining in the first.

The Tritons had an opportunity to go ahead with a five-meter penalty late in the frame, but Smirnov stood tall in the cage for the Waves with a pivotal save to keep it tied.

The second period saw just one goal from each team, as the Tritons went back ahead 4-3 before Ivan Khramtsov muscled one in with 53 seconds before halftime. The two sides went into the break with the score knotted up at four.

The second half started slow for the Waves, with the Tritons beginning with a 3-0 spurt to go ahead 7-4 The Waves got one back with 2:11 left, as Ionescu tallied his second of the game to pull Pepperdine back within two. The Tritons answered with a goal but a five-meter penalty score from Brough made it 8-6 heading into the fourth.

Both defenses dug in early in the fourth, with neither team finding a goal until the 3:09 mark where the Tritons tallied their ninth of the game, bringing the score to 9-6. Ionescu answered on Pepperdine's next possession, with Benners then notching a score on a skipped shot to make it 9-8 in favor of UCSD with 1:34 remaining.

The Tritons bled clock and then drew an exclusion late in the shot clock next, with UC San Diego using the prolonged possession to score with 39 seconds left to make it 10-8. Danko put home a five-meter penalty with 23 seconds left, but it was too late for the Waves as the Tritons saw out the remainder of the clock to secure the one-goal lead.

The Waves will take on Claremont-Mudd-Scripps tomorrow at 8 a.m., before a matchup against either No. 6 UC Davis or No. 15 LMU at either 1:40 p.m. or 3 p.m. All games will be streamed live on overnght.com.

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 67 athletes garner All-American honors while boasting a winning record in 37 of 51 seasons.

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