No. 11 Water Polo Takes Down No. 14 UC Santa Barbara to Conclude MPSF Invite

Sunday, September 20

Palo Alto, Calif.

12:30 PM

Pepperdine University

5-8

UC Santa Barbara

12-7

Team	1	2	3	4	Final F
UC Santa Barbara	1	3	5	1	10
Pepperdine	3	4	4	4	15

No. 11 Water Polo Takes Down No. 14 UC Santa Barbara to Conclude MPSF Invite

9/20/2026 3:40:00 PM | Men's Water Polo

Box Score

PALO ALTO, Calif. — No. 11 Pepperdine water polo (6-8) defeated No. 14 UC Santa Barbara (12-8) by a score of 15-10 on day three of the MPSF Invite from Avery Aquatics Center on the campus of Stanford University.

The Waves finished the tournament with a 2-2 record, with the win over the Gauchos ultimately giving Pepperdine an 11th-place finish in the tournament.

Pepperdine led wire-to-wire in the victory, holding UCSB to just one goal in both the first and fourth periods.

Six Waves posted multi-goal efforts, led by Jon Carcarey's three goals. Erik Ionescu logged two assists to go along with two goals, pacing the Waves with four points.

Alex Piccin added a career-high four steals to go with three points and three drawn exclusions to help lead the defensive effort. Max Smirnov made three saves in the cage to earn the victory.

"I'm very proud of our team's intensity and defensive presence today in our win against UCSB to finish the MPSF Invite tournament," said head coach Merrill Moses following the win. "This was a tough weekend against some of the best teams in the country. We are going to analyze our games and learn from our mistakes and continue to get stronger as we prepare for our conference games coming up."

Pepperdine did not allow an even strength goal for the opening 10 minutes of the game as the defense set the tone for the Waves. Cade Anderton and Hunter Danko had first period goals which put Pepperdine ahead 2-0 midway through the frame.

The Gauchos got on the board with a 6-on-5 score, which was answered by Ionescu to give the Waves a 3-1 lead through one.

Pepperdine extended its lead to three goals by halftime, as Ionescu converted a five-meter penalty while Piccin notched the final two goals of the half, putting the Waves on top 7-4 going into halftime.

The Gauchos brought it to within one goal on two occasions in the third at 8-7 and 10-9, but the Waves continued to have an answer for every run. Brian Barnuevo put home a pair of key five-meter penalty attempts in the third while Carcarey and Csanad Bella added scores. Pepperdine led 11-9 entering the final eight minutes.

Pepperdine's defense made sure the game was put to rest, not allowing a fourth period goal until under a minute remaining in the game. The Waves tacked on four more goals with Carcarey netting two, Bella adding his second and Milo Joseph finding the back of the cage.

The final score read 15-10 in favor of the Waves, as Pepperdine posted a season-high seven field blocks as a team in the defensive team effort.

The win marked Pepperdine's second this season against the Gauchos, after previously earning a 13-9 win at home on Sept. 3.

Pepperdine will return home Saturday, taking on No. 1 UCLA at 1 p.m. from Raleigh Runnels Memorial Pool.

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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