No. 11 Water Polo Splits Pair of Games on Day Two at MPSF Invite

Saturday, September 19

Palo Alto, Calif.

8:00 AM

Pepperdine University

5-7

Claremont-Mudd-Scripps

1-7

Team	1	2	3	4	Final F
Claremont-Mudd-Scripps	1	1	3	5	10
Pepperdine	4	4	3	3	14

Team	1	2	3	4	Final F
Loyola Marymount	3	4	2	6	15
Pepperdine	5	2	2	5	14

No. 11 Water Polo Splits Pair of Games on Day Two at MPSF Invite

9/19/2026 4:50:00 PM | Men's Water Polo

Box Score 1 Box Score 2

PALO ALTO, Calif. — No. 11 Pepperdine water polo (5-8) defeated Claremont-Mudd-Scripps (1-8) 14-10 before falling to No. 15 LMU (6-3) 15-14 on day two of the MPSF Invite from Avery Aquatics Center on the campus of Stanford University.

Erik Ionescu led the Waves with five goals on the day to go with seven assists, while Hunter Danko also logged multi-goal efforts in both games. Max Smirnov collected 19 saves in goal with 20 goals against in seven periods of action.

Pepperdine led wire-to-wire against the Stags in the morning, allowing just two first half goals to hold a multi-goal lead throughout. The matchup with LMU was back and forth down the stretch, with neither team holding a lead of more than two goals at any point in the game, as the Lions scored in the final second to secure the win in regulation.

"I'm proud of how the team played today and competed," said head coach Merrill Moses. "Unfortunately, we didn't come away with the win versus LMU but it was a good team game and the team is continuing to get stronger. We are looking forward to playing in our final game of the MPSF Invite tournament against UCSB tomorrow."

The Waves will conclude the tournament tomorrow at 12:30 p.m., taking on No. 14 UC Santa Barbara in the 11th place match with streaming available on overnght.com.

No. 11 Pepperdine 14, Claremont-Mudd-Scripps 10
In a rematch of Pepperdine's second game of the season which saw the Waves prevail 16-9 at the Triton Invite, the Waves matched up with the Stags at another neutral site.

Pepperdine got in rhythm offensively early, with the first two goals of the game coming on the power play via Ionescu and Csanad Bella. Milo Joseph then made it a 3-0 game before the Stags got on the board at the 4:15 mark of the first.

Brian Barnuevo fired in a five-meter penalty later in the frame, as the Waves took a 4-1 lead into the second period.

The Waves came out with the first three goals of the second as well, with Owen Tift, Jon Carcarey and Tyce di Pretoro each opening their ledgers with goals. Pepperdine shut down the Stags offensively until the 1:59 mark, as their lone goal of the period was answered by Bella to give the Waves an 8-2 lead at halftime.

The teams traded goals in the third, with Carcarey and di Pretoro each netting their second of the contest while Danko put home a 6-on-5 opportunity. The Waves maintained their six-goal advantage, taking an 11-5 lead into the final eight minutes.

The Stags had their best spell to begin the fourth, using a 3-0 run to bring the score to 11-8. Pepperdine quickly put the game to rest, scoring three of the next four as Danko netted consecutive tallies before Cameron Bench ended the scoring, bringing the final score to 14-10 in favor of the Waves.

Carcarey paced the squad with five points through two goals and three assists to go along with a steal. Danko notched the lone hat trick for Pepperdine while Bella and di Pretoro added multi-goal efforts.

Bella also added a team-high three steals while Joseph logged three drawn exclusions. Smirnov made nine saves in the cage in three periods of action to earn the win.

No. 15 LMU 15, No. 11 Pepperdine 14
The Waves had a hot start offensively with three goals in the opening two minutes of the contest. Ionescu continued his strong play with the first two of the game, with the first coming at even strength before a five-meter penalty tally. Cade Anderton added his first of the game soon after to give Pepperdine a 3-1 lead.

The Lions fought back with a pair of goals, but Pepperdine was able to shut them out for the final 4:43 of the first, as goals from Jackson Benners and Carcarey gave the Waves a 5-3 lead after the first eight minutes.

Each team scored twice in the first five minutes of the second frame as the defenses settled in. Will Stuart fired in his fourth goal of the season for the Waves while di Pretoro notched a goal at the 4:03 mark which gave Pepperdine a 7-5 lead.

The Lions scored the final two goals of the half, as the game went into halftime with the score tied at 7-7.

The teams went back and forth to begin the second half, trading goals until the score read 11-11 with 5:08 to play in the fourth. Owen Tift tabbed the first two of the fourth for the Waves after Ionescu and Milo Joseph scored in the third.

LMU then scored the next two to hold its largest lead at 13-11 with 3:43 to play, as Danko quickly answered for Pepperdine 20 seconds later to bring it back to a one-goal game. It was Danko again with 1:26 left with a pivotal goal for the Waves, bringing the score to 14-13 in favor of LMU.

Bella secured a key steal on the next possession for Pepperdine, feeding Ionescu in transition who put home his fourth goal of the game, tying the score at 14 with 73 seconds to go. The teams then traded stops, setting up the Lions with one final possession in regulation with a chance to win the game. After a key save from Smirnov with six seconds left, the Lions secured the rebound and fired in the game-winning goal with one second remaining.

Ionescu paced Pepperdine with four goals while his five assists and nine points were both season-highs from any Wave. Tift and Danko also posted a pair of goals, while Bella collected four steals to lead the way defensively following a three-steal effort in game one.

Pepperdine will return tomorrow at 12:30 p.m., taking on No. 14 UC Santa Barbara to conclude the MPSF Invite.

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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