For one quarter, No. 13 Pepperdine kept pace with the nation’s No. 1 team. Then UCLA found another gear.
No. 1 UCLA (14-0) men’s water polo defeated No. 13 Pepperdine (6-9) 16-11 Saturday at Raleigh Runnels Memorial Pool in Malibu, extending its undefeated start to 14 games.
The Bruins and Waves traded goals throughout the opening quarter, entering the first break tied 4-4. Hunter Danko led Pepperdine with a first-quarter hat trick, while fifth-year utility Ben Larsen scored twice for UCLA.
Pepperdine briefly took control early in the second quarter when Erik Ionescu scored to give the Waves a 5-4 advantage. UCLA quickly answered, however, holding Pepperdine scoreless for the remainder of the half while putting together five consecutive goals.
Senior center Marcell Szécsi started the run with back-to-back goals before fifth-year attacker Chase McFarland, freshman utility Tristan Tucker and Larsen added to the Bruins’ lead. UCLA entered halftime ahead 9-5.
The Waves managed to slow UCLA’s momentum in the third quarter, cutting the deficit to three after goals from Ionescu and Jackson Benners. But the Bruins responded with another surge.
Junior attacker Bode Brinkema scored three times in the third quarter, completing his first hat trick of the season in just over six minutes. Senior defender Max Matthews and junior attacker Ryder Dodd also found the back of the net as UCLA closed the period on a three-goal run and took a 14-8 lead into the final quarter.
Matthews added another goal early in the fourth before sophomore attacker Hayden O’Hare scored UCLA’s final goal of the afternoon. Danko continued his strong performance for Pepperdine, scoring three times in the final period to finish with a career-high six goals, but the Waves could not close the gap.
Larsen and Brinkema each finished with three goals, while Dodd, Matthews and Szécsi contributed two apiece. UCLA senior goalkeeper Nate Tauscher recorded 11 saves through three quarters before sophomore goalkeeper Harper Gardner took over in the final period.
With the victory, UCLA remains undefeated at 14-0 heading into its first conference games of the season.
The Bruins will return home to Spieker Aquatics Center next weekend for a pair of major tests, hosting No. 2 Stanford on Saturday, Oct. 3, before facing No. 4 California on Sunday, Oct. 4.
