BOX SCORE • UPDATED BRACKET • GCC CHAMPIONSHIPS
STOCKTON, Calif. – The fourth-seed Pepperdine men's water polo team defeated the fifth-seed UC Irvine Anteaters 11-9 in the quarterfinal of the Inaugural Golden Coast Conference Championship Tournament.
The Waves (13-12) advance the semifinals and will play No. 1 seed UC Santa Barbara at 7:30 pm in the second semi of the day. The first semifinal features No. 3 Long Beach State taking on No. 2 Pacific at 6:00 pm.
The scoring started early for the Waves, with GCC Player of the Year Marko Asic scoring in the first two minutes of play on a five-meter penalty shot. Continuing the scoring for the Waves was Mate Toth and Mark Urban, each with a goal each. The Anteaters did get a goal late in the first quarter to cut the lead to 3-1 going into the second quarter of play.
The Anteaters got their second goal in a row to start the second quarter, cutting the lead to one early in the quarter. Pepperdine got a goal back when Kenneth Keller scored to bring the lead back to two goals, and another when Sam Paur put a ball in the back of the net to bring the lead up to 5-2. The Waves added another goal to their lead when Sean Thomas scored late in the second quarter. The Anteaters got a goal with less than two minutes to play in the half, but Cristian Bridley quickly answered back, becoming the seventh goal scorer for the Waves in the first half.
The second half started strong for the Waves, with Urban getting his second goal of the night, the first Wave with multiple goals. The Anteaters got one back midway through the third, cutting the Waves lead to four goals.
The Anteaters got the first goal of the fourth and last quarter, cutting the Waves lead to three. Thomas quickly got the goal back for the Waves, getting the lead to 9-5. The Anteaters had a good chance to get another goal, with a five-meter penalty drawn midway through the quarter, but the ball hit off the post, to preserve the lead at 9-5. The Anteaters got a goal soon after the missed five-meter penalty, but the Waves answered right back with a five-meter of their own as Asic got his second goal of the night. Toth got his second goal of the game to extend the lead to five, but the Anteaters got a quick goal to answer right back. The Anteaters scored again, but it was too little, too late as the Waves held on to the ball to win the game.