Game Recap: Men's Water Polo | | By Athletic Communications
12 Waves Score in Win Over Air Force
USAF ACADEMY, Colo. – The #5 Pepperdine men's water polo team started West Coast Conference play with a 24-13 win over Air Force at Cadet Natatorium on Sunday.
The Waves (15-5, 1-0) outshot the Falcons (11-12, 0-1) 33 to 17 in total shots, while posting an impressive .727 shooting percentage. Pepperdine also scored at least four goals in each quarter, including eight in the third period.
BIG WAVES
Ionescu began the scoring on the first possession of the game, but Air Force knotted the game 1-1. Both teams continued to trade goals as Dane Howell (Huntington Beach, Calif.) and Chase Wilson (New York, N.Y.) found the back of the net to put Pepperdine back in front. The Waves were able to create some separation and take a 6-3 lead into the second quarter after Kaneko, Birdsall and Charles Warmington (Newport Beach, Calif.) also scored in the first eight minutes.
The Falcons scored the first goal of the second quarter, but Kaneko countered with his second goal of the game to keep the Waves up by three. Air Force once again found the back of the cage, however, Pepperdine responded with back-to-back goals from Wilson and Christian Hosea (San Clemente, Calif.) to take a 9-5 lead with three minutes left in the period. Kaneko earned a hat-trick before the break, while the Waves took a 10-7 lead into the second half.
Four-straight goals to start the third quarter from Birdsall, Ionescu, Reed Pantaleon (Huntington Beach, Calif.) and Adam Csapo (Budapest, Hungary) gave Pepperdine their biggest lead of the game, 14-7. The Falcons and Waves then played evenly to finish the quarter while Joseph, Howell, Ionescu and Sandor Gal all scored. Pepperdine held an 18-11 lead with eight minutes to play.
The Waves outscored the Falcons 6-2 in the fourth quarter and won their first conference game of the year 24-13. Pepperdine was led by Ionescu who had five goals on five shots.
AF 3-4-4-2 — 13
PEPP 6-4-8-6 — 24
Pepperdine goals: Erik Ionescu 5, Bronson Birdsall 3, Milo Joseph 3, Clay Kaneko 3, Dane Howell 2, Chase Wilson 2, Adam Csapo 1, Sandor Gal 1, Christian Hosea 1, Reed Pantaleon 1, Owen Tift 1, Charles Warmington 1.
UP NEXT
The Waves will stay on the road and continue conference play with a matchup against PCH Cup rival #18 Loyola Marymount on Friday night. Along with all WCC contests, the game will be streamed on ESPN+, and a link to the stream can be found on the water polo team's schedule page on pepperdinewaves.com.
FOLLOW
Follow @PeppWaterPolo on X for updates and check out PepperdineWaves.com and Facebook (/PeppWaterPolo) for releases and more information. Find the Waves on Instagram @peppwaterpolo.
The Waves (15-5, 1-0) outshot the Falcons (11-12, 0-1) 33 to 17 in total shots, while posting an impressive .727 shooting percentage. Pepperdine also scored at least four goals in each quarter, including eight in the third period.
BIG WAVES
- Redshirt freshman center Bronson Birdsall (Kailua, Hawai'i) earned a hat-trick.
- Senior attacker Clay Kaneko (Huntington Beach, Calif.) had five points with three goals and two assists.
- Freshman attacker Erik Ionescu (Budapest, Hungary) had five goals on a perfect 1.000 shooting percentage, as well as two assists and one drawn exclusion.
- Junior utility Milo Joseph (Malibu, Calif.) tallied three goals and two drawn exclusions.
Ionescu began the scoring on the first possession of the game, but Air Force knotted the game 1-1. Both teams continued to trade goals as Dane Howell (Huntington Beach, Calif.) and Chase Wilson (New York, N.Y.) found the back of the net to put Pepperdine back in front. The Waves were able to create some separation and take a 6-3 lead into the second quarter after Kaneko, Birdsall and Charles Warmington (Newport Beach, Calif.) also scored in the first eight minutes.
The Falcons scored the first goal of the second quarter, but Kaneko countered with his second goal of the game to keep the Waves up by three. Air Force once again found the back of the cage, however, Pepperdine responded with back-to-back goals from Wilson and Christian Hosea (San Clemente, Calif.) to take a 9-5 lead with three minutes left in the period. Kaneko earned a hat-trick before the break, while the Waves took a 10-7 lead into the second half.
Four-straight goals to start the third quarter from Birdsall, Ionescu, Reed Pantaleon (Huntington Beach, Calif.) and Adam Csapo (Budapest, Hungary) gave Pepperdine their biggest lead of the game, 14-7. The Falcons and Waves then played evenly to finish the quarter while Joseph, Howell, Ionescu and Sandor Gal all scored. Pepperdine held an 18-11 lead with eight minutes to play.
The Waves outscored the Falcons 6-2 in the fourth quarter and won their first conference game of the year 24-13. Pepperdine was led by Ionescu who had five goals on five shots.
AF 3-4-4-2 — 13
PEPP 6-4-8-6 — 24
Pepperdine goals: Erik Ionescu 5, Bronson Birdsall 3, Milo Joseph 3, Clay Kaneko 3, Dane Howell 2, Chase Wilson 2, Adam Csapo 1, Sandor Gal 1, Christian Hosea 1, Reed Pantaleon 1, Owen Tift 1, Charles Warmington 1.
UP NEXT
The Waves will stay on the road and continue conference play with a matchup against PCH Cup rival #18 Loyola Marymount on Friday night. Along with all WCC contests, the game will be streamed on ESPN+, and a link to the stream can be found on the water polo team's schedule page on pepperdinewaves.com.
FOLLOW
Follow @PeppWaterPolo on X for updates and check out PepperdineWaves.com and Facebook (/PeppWaterPolo) for releases and more information. Find the Waves on Instagram @peppwaterpolo.
