MALIBU, Calif. – No. 1 UCLA men’s water polo defeated No. 13 Pepperdine 16-11 Saturday at Raleigh Runnels Memorial Pool. UCLA, which scored six times unanswered during a stretch between the second and third quarters, led by as many as seven goals.
The Bruins (14-0) got hat tricks from Bode Brinkema and Ben Larsen. Larsen scored all three of his goals during the first half and Brinkema recorded all three of his during the second half. UCLA’s Nate Tauscher had 10 saves in three quarters of work. The Waves (6-9) were paced by Hunter Danko’s six goals and Max Smirnov’s 11 saves.
Fifty-two seconds into the game, Larsen gave the Bruins a 1-0 lead. Ryder Dodd pushed the advantage to 2-0 before Danko responded with a next-possession conversion. Peter Castillo made it a two-goal game once more moments later, but Pepperdine countered with a pair to tie it up. Larsen’s subsequent strike, followed by Danko’s successful penalty shot – which gave him an early hat trick – made the score 4-4 after one.
After Erik Ionescu put the Waves back on top at 7:20, UCLA took a firm grasp of the second quarter. The Bruins ran off five consecutive goals, starting with two from Marcell Szécsi. Chase McFarland, Tristan Tucker and Larsen followed their teammates example to make the halftime score 9-5.
Brinkema picked up the baton from Larsen, scoring at 6:20 of the third. Pepperdine put a stop to the UCLA run with back-to-back goals, but it was Brinkema who halted hopes of a momentum shift. His first three-goal game of 2026 came in just 6:19 of the third quarter and was capped with a penalty make. Dodd added his second and Max Matthews added another to give the Bruins a 14-8 lead after three.
Matthews struck again to open the fourth and Hayden O’Hare later tallied UCLA’s final one of the day. Danko scored three more times to finish his big day, but it was not enough. The Bruins’ Harper Gardner was in goal for the last frame.
The Bruins host No. 2 Stanford Saturday, Oct. 3 at 1 p.m. PT in the teams’ MPSF opener. Conference play continues the next day, when No. 4 California stops by Spieker Aquatics Center for another 1 p.m. start.
No. 1 UCLA 16, No. 13 Pepperdine 11
|
SCOREBOARD |
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
FINAL |
|
No. 1 UCLA |
4 |
5 |
5 |
2 |
16 |
|
No. 13 Pepperdine |
4 |
1 |
3 |
3 |
11 |
6x5: UCLA 7/13, Pepperdine 4/11
Penalties: UCLA 1/2, Pepperdine 2/2
UCLA Goals: Brinkema 3, Larsen 3, Dodd 2, Matthews 2, Szécsi 2, Castillo 1, McFarland 1, O’Hare 1, T. Tucker 1
UCLA Saves: Tauscher 10
Pepperdine Goals: Danko 6, Ionescu 3, Benners 1, Tift 1
Pepperdine Saves: Smirnov 11