Photo by Danielle Romeo
The No. 9-ranked Pepperdine men’s water polo team had plenty of action this past weekend when they took on Concordia and Long Beach State. On Friday, Pepperdine defeated Concordia 15-8.
In the first quarter, Pepperdine put six points on the board and held Concordia to just two goals. The Eagles battled back in the second, putting three balls in the net to pull within three of the Waves.
Redshirt senior Marko Madaras would seal the game for the Waves, scoring three goals in the third quarter to make the score 11-6. In the fourth quarter, the Waves scored four more goals and earned a 15-8 victory. Madaras led the team with five goals on the day.
On Saturday, Pepperdine fell to No. 8 Long Beach State 11-10 in a thriller that went to sudden death overtime. The Waves and 49ers closed out the first quarter tied 2-2.
In the second quarter, Pepperdine took an early 5-2 lead but Long Beach State battled back to close the gap within two, 6-4. The 49ers tied the match at 6 at the start of the third quarter. The Waves were unable to hold off the 49ers as they took a 9-6 lead heading into the fourth.
The Waves came out strong in the fourth, scoring three straight goals to tie up the match. After a strong defensive matchup, each team would only add one goal to the board to make the game tied at 9 at the end of the fourth quarter.
In the first overtime period, the 49ers scored an early goal, but the Waves would answer back with a goal of their own to send the game to a second overtime. Both defenses remained strong in the second overtime period to keep the game tied at 10, sending the game to a sudden death.
Long Beach State won the sprint and capitalized with an immediate goal to win the game 11-10. Freshman Marko Asic led the Waves with three goals, and sophomore goalie Zack Rhodes had 18 saves on the day. Pepperdine moves to 11-9 on the season.
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