UCLA
Pepperdine
No. 1 UCLA Improves to 14-0, Thumps the Waves, 15-7
October 04, 2014 | Men's Water Polo
LOS ANGELES -- The No. 1 UCLA men's water polo team improved to 14-0 overall and 2-0 in the MPSF with a 15-7 win over No. 12 Pepperdine on Friday night at Spieker Aquatics Center. The win marked the 11th-consecutive over Pepperdine as the Waves dropped to 5-6 overall and 0-2 in league play.
Junior utility Danny McClintick had a game-high three goals to lead the Bruins.
The Bruins dominated the first period, getting out to a 4-0 start. Senior Daniel Lenhart got things started with a goal at the 4:45 mark of the first. Then the Bruins received two straight power play goals from sophomore Ryder Roberts (3:38) and senior Paul Reynolds (1:52). McClintick ended the scoring in the first (0:58) to give the Bruins a 4-0 lead after one.
UCLA put four more up on the board in the second, scoring all unanswered to build an 8-0 advantage. Senior Chris Fahlsing made it 5-0 with a power play goal (5:01) and then scored a goal from the front court (4:18) to extend the lead to 6-0. Reynolds added his second with a counter attack strike (3:31) and then freshman Alex Roelse capitalized on a 6-on-5 opportunity to give the Bruins the 8-0 edge (2:31). Pepperdine scored the final two goals of the second period to trim the lead to 8-2 at the break.
The Bruins put up another four goals in the third to build a 12-4 lead. McClintick started things off with a skip shot to give UCLA a 9-2 lead (6:47). Pepperdine's Jacob Schrimpf made it 9-3 with a goal at the 5:05 mark of the third. Then Luke Hewko made it two straight for the Waves (3:44) to cut the lead to 9-4. But the Bruins reeled off three straight to end the period. Senior Cristiano Mirarchi made it 10-4 (2:45) and redshirt freshman Matt Farmer had a nice backhanded goal from two meters (1:54) to put UCLA up 11-4. The Bruins then ended the scoring in the third on McClintick's hat trick (0:30) to make it 12-4.
Both teams battled to a 3-3 tie in the fourth period to provide the 15-7 final. Mirarchi added his second (7:33) of the game to give the Bruins a 13-4 lead. After Kenneth Keller scored an exclusion goal to cut the lead to 13-5 with 7:05 to go, the Bruins got back-to-back scores from Roberts, his second on a power play (6:17) and redshirt freshman Maxwell Irving from the front court (2:52) to push the lead to 15-5. Wesley Sherburne scored his second of the game for Pepperdine, a power play goal with 2:22 to go and the Waves' Cristian Bridley beat the buzzer with 0:01 on the clock to provide the final, 15-7.
The Bruins were 5-for-8 on power plays while Pepperdine was 3-for-8. Neither team attempted a penalty shot.
Sophomore Garrett Danner started in goal for UCLA and played the first three quarters and was relieved by senior Stephen White in the fourth period. Danner ended with 12 saves while allowing four goals. White surrendered the final three goals while making two stops. Zackery Rhodes played the entire game in goal for the Waves, racking up eight saves.
The Bruins return to action tomorrow when they host No. 17 Loyola Marymount at Noon at Spieker Aquatics Center, then return to the pool at 3:00 p.m. for an exhibition game with Golden West College.
No. 12 Pepperdine at No. 1 UCLA
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | F | |
| No. 12 Pepperdine | 0 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 7 |
| No. 1 UCLA | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 15 |
PEP Goals: Wesley Sherburne 2, Kenneth Keller 2, Cristian Bridley, Jacob Schrimpf, Luke Hewko
PEP Saves: Zackery Rhodes 8
UCLA Goals: Danny McClintick 3, Ryder Roberts 2, Paul Reynolds 2, Chris Fahlsing 2, Cristiano Mirarchi 2, Daniel Lenhart, Maxwell Irving, Matt Farmer, Alex Roelse
UCLA Saves: Garrett Danner 12, Stephen White 2
Players Mentioned
