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BERKELEY, Calif. -- The top-ranked UCLA Bruins improved to 13-0 on the year with an 11-5 victory over No. 10 Pepperdine in the quarterfinals of the Mountain Pacific Invitational at California's Spieker Aquatic Complex on Saturday morning. It marked UCLA's 46th-straight victory, which extends the second-longest winning streak in school history. The all-time record is 50, which was established from 1964-68.
Senior Patrick Fellner led the Bruins with a season-high-tying four goals against the Waves. Senior Garrett Danner returned to the water for the first time since Sept. 4, playing the first three quarters in goal for UCLA and registering 11 saves while allowing three goals. Junior Aleksandar Ruzic played the fourth quarter in the cage for the Bruins, posting five saves while giving up two power play goals.
The Bruins won the first quarter 2-0 with Danner tallying four saves. Fellner scored the only goals of the first period, scoring on a power play (5:33) and on a strike from the front court (2:04).
Junior Max Irving opened the scoring in the second period with a goal from the front court (7:17) to make it 3-0. Sean Thomas scored a power play goal to cut the lead to 3-1 (5:57), but senior Chancellor Ramirez answered with a goal from the front court (4:55) to push the lead to 4-1. Marko Asic converted a penalty shot to end the scoring in the second period (4:40) with the Bruins taking a 4-2 lead into the break.
UCLA dominated the third period, 5-1, with Fellner scoring two more goals (6:17 and 5:21). Junior Jack Grover also scored twice in the quarter (7:31 and 2:38) for the Bruins. Senior Ryder Roberts ended the scoring in the third with a power play goal (1:14) to give UCLA a 9-3 lead heading into the fourth.
The Bruins battled to a 2-2 tie in the final quarter. Asic completed his hat trick with a power play goal (5:01) to cut the Bruins' lead to 9-4. Spencer Lupin added another exclusion goal for the Waves (2:26) to trim the lead to 9-5. Freshman Jake Simpson returned the favor with a power play goal (1:49) to push the lead to 10-5. Junior James Robinson scored on a penalty shot (0:49) to provide the 11-5 final.
The Bruins return to action later today at 3:15 p.m. when they face the winner of No. 4 Pacific/No. 5 Stanford in a semifinal matchup at California's Spieker Aquatics Complex.
No. 10 Pepperdine vs. No. 1 UCLA (Mountain Pacific Invitational - Quarterfinals)
| SCOREBOARD | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | F |
| No. 10 Pepperdine | 0 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 5 |
| No. 1 UCLA | 2 | 2 | 5 | 2 | 11 |
6x5 - UCLA - 4/8 - PEP - 3/8
Penalties - UCLA - 1/1 - PEP - 1/1
UCLA Goals: Patrick Fellner 4, Jack Grover 2, Chancellor Ramirez 1, Ryder Roberts 1, James Robinson 1, Jake Simpson 1, Max Irving 1
UCLA Saves: Garrett Danner 11, Aleksandar Ruzic 5
PEP Goals: Marko Asic 3, Spencer Lupin 1, Sean Thomas 1
PEP Saves: n/a