#9 Pepperdine Remains Perfect in Conference Play
MALIBU, Calif. – The #9 Pepperdine men's water polo team improved to 5-0 in conference play with a 13-10 win over #13 San Jose State at Raleigh Runnels Memorial Pool on Saturday afternoon.
The Waves (20-6, 5-0) outshot the reigning WCC tournament champions .382 to .294 and held San Jose State (12-6, 1-2) scoreless on seven of their 11 power play chances.
BIG WAVES
Pepperdine and San Jose State went goal for goal in the first quarter as Pepperdine got three 6-on-5 goals in the first eight minutes from Tift, Jackson Benners (Dallas, Texas) and Hosea. In goal, Smirnov came up with five saves in the period as the Waves and Spartans headed to the second quarter all knotted at 3.
Opening the second quarter with a goal and giving Pepperdine its first lead of the game, Clay Kaneko (Huntington Beach, Calif.) became the fourth Wave to score against the Spartans. San Jose State and Pepperdine then continued to trade blows as the teams found themselves in another tie after Milo Joseph (Malibu, Calif.) added his name to the stat sheet, 5-5. Anthony D'Ambra (Rolling Hills, Calif.) then put the Waves back in front by one with a goal of his own with 1:36 left in the half. Pepperdine was then able to take a 7-6 lead into the break after Hosea found the back of the net for a second time thanks to a beautiful pass from Csapo on the Waves last possession of the half.
Bronson Birdsall (Kailua, Hawai'i) put Pepperdine up 8-6 after floating the ball over the goalies hands to open the third quarter as the shot clock expired. After Smirnov locked down the goal and collected his 13th save of the game, Csapo found the back of the cage to put the Waves in front by three. The Spartans then countered with a goal, but Conor Brough (Dana Point, Calif.) scored with one second left in the quarter to give the Waves a 10-7 advantage with eight minutes to go.
After a scoreless first three minutes of the final period, San Jose State converted a 6-on-5 to make it a 10-8 game in favor of Pepperdine with 4:13 left to play. However, Chase Wilson (New York, N.Y.) answered to put the Waves back up by three on the very next possession. The Spartans continued to fight, but Jon Carcarey (Santa Maria, Calif.) responded with another goal for the Waves to put them in front 12-9 with 2:40 to play. After a steal from Hosea, Tift scored on an empty net to put the Waves up 13-9 with 1:18 left in the game. Pepperdine would go on to win the contest 13-10 and improve to 5-0 in conference play.
Pepperdine was led by Hosea and Tift who both scored twice, while 11 total Waves scored in the contest.
SJSU 3-3-1-3 — 10
PEPP 3-4-3-3 — 13
Pepperdine goals: Christian Hosea 2, Owen Tift 2, Jackson Benners 1, Bronson Birdsall 1, Conor Brough 1, Jon Carcarey 1, Adam Csapo 1, Anthony D'Ambra 1, Clay Kaneko 1, Milo Joseph 1, Chase Wilson 1.
UP NEXT
Next Saturday, Pepperdine will conclude its regular season against #5 Pacific in Stockton, Calif. at 1 p.m. 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.
With a win on Saturday, Pepperdine will win the WCC regular season title for the second consecutive year and clinch a first round bye in the conference tournament. Pending other results, Pepperdine could be the one, two or three seed in the WCC tournament.
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 (20-6, 5-0) outshot the reigning WCC tournament champions .382 to .294 and held San Jose State (12-6, 1-2) scoreless on seven of their 11 power play chances.
BIG WAVES
- Junior attacker Adam Csapo (Budapest, Hungary) tallied one goal, three assists and one drawn exclusion.
- Junior attacker Sandor Gal (Budapest, Hungary) notched three steals, one drawn exclusion, one steal and one field block.
- Fifth year attacker Christian Hosea (San Clemente, Calif.) had two goals, one steal and one field block.
- Freshman goalie Max Smirnov (Petah Tikva, Israel) totaled an impressive 16 saves.
- Freshman utility Owen Tift (Newport Beach, Calif.) collected two goals, one assist and two field blocks.
Pepperdine and San Jose State went goal for goal in the first quarter as Pepperdine got three 6-on-5 goals in the first eight minutes from Tift, Jackson Benners (Dallas, Texas) and Hosea. In goal, Smirnov came up with five saves in the period as the Waves and Spartans headed to the second quarter all knotted at 3.
Opening the second quarter with a goal and giving Pepperdine its first lead of the game, Clay Kaneko (Huntington Beach, Calif.) became the fourth Wave to score against the Spartans. San Jose State and Pepperdine then continued to trade blows as the teams found themselves in another tie after Milo Joseph (Malibu, Calif.) added his name to the stat sheet, 5-5. Anthony D'Ambra (Rolling Hills, Calif.) then put the Waves back in front by one with a goal of his own with 1:36 left in the half. Pepperdine was then able to take a 7-6 lead into the break after Hosea found the back of the net for a second time thanks to a beautiful pass from Csapo on the Waves last possession of the half.
Bronson Birdsall (Kailua, Hawai'i) put Pepperdine up 8-6 after floating the ball over the goalies hands to open the third quarter as the shot clock expired. After Smirnov locked down the goal and collected his 13th save of the game, Csapo found the back of the cage to put the Waves in front by three. The Spartans then countered with a goal, but Conor Brough (Dana Point, Calif.) scored with one second left in the quarter to give the Waves a 10-7 advantage with eight minutes to go.
After a scoreless first three minutes of the final period, San Jose State converted a 6-on-5 to make it a 10-8 game in favor of Pepperdine with 4:13 left to play. However, Chase Wilson (New York, N.Y.) answered to put the Waves back up by three on the very next possession. The Spartans continued to fight, but Jon Carcarey (Santa Maria, Calif.) responded with another goal for the Waves to put them in front 12-9 with 2:40 to play. After a steal from Hosea, Tift scored on an empty net to put the Waves up 13-9 with 1:18 left in the game. Pepperdine would go on to win the contest 13-10 and improve to 5-0 in conference play.
Pepperdine was led by Hosea and Tift who both scored twice, while 11 total Waves scored in the contest.
SJSU 3-3-1-3 — 10
PEPP 3-4-3-3 — 13
Pepperdine goals: Christian Hosea 2, Owen Tift 2, Jackson Benners 1, Bronson Birdsall 1, Conor Brough 1, Jon Carcarey 1, Adam Csapo 1, Anthony D'Ambra 1, Clay Kaneko 1, Milo Joseph 1, Chase Wilson 1.
UP NEXT
Next Saturday, Pepperdine will conclude its regular season against #5 Pacific in Stockton, Calif. at 1 p.m. 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.
With a win on Saturday, Pepperdine will win the WCC regular season title for the second consecutive year and clinch a first round bye in the conference tournament. Pending other results, Pepperdine could be the one, two or three seed in the WCC tournament.
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.
