Saturday marked another suffering loss for the Pepperdine men’s water polo team. Battling No. 3 USC the No. 8 Waves could not put enough balls in the net which resulted in a 14-8 loss.
“We gave up too many goals in the first half senior attacker Preston Lujan said. But Clayton really stepped up and made a presence for us in two meters.”
With three goals senior center Clayton Snyder was the high scorer for Pepperdine.
Snyder recorded his 100th career goal in this match against the Trojans.
However Snyder did not highlight his achievement.
“There was never an objective to reach ‘x’ number of goals Snyder said. I play a position where it’s my job to create opportunities in our offense whether goals come from me or from someone else off an ejection or 5-meter that I draw.”
Junior attacker Andrew Milcovich netted two goals for the Waves and freshman goalkeeper Colin Carroll was credited with 10 saves.
Milcovich said he was impressed with Carroll’s saves especially since he was coming off a broken hand injury.
“For Colin it was his first college match after breaking his hand Milcovich said. I think that he did a great job especially when playing his first game against USC [who are] the returning champions.”
During the match USC had a lot of open ball drives that easily put them in the lead. In addition there wasn’t as much of a solid team dynamic or enough consistency for Pepperdine to pull through in the end.
In the first period the Waves only scored one goal to USC’s strong start of five. The score was 7-3 in the second period with each team throwing two balls into the net.
“Defense has been our main crutch—our center defender Grant Miller and goalie John Hahn from last year are very tough to replace Snyder said. It’s difficult to come back from a 5-1 deficit in the first.”
In the third period the Trojans had a 5-1 scoring run and doubled their lead putting them up 12-7. In the final period Pepperdine put only one goal in the net compared to USC’s two resulting in the “W” for the Trojans 14-8.
Snyder credited some of USC’s victory to their at-home advantage.
“There’s always an advantage playing at home because there’s a great sense of pride involved Snyder said. Another team wants to come into your fortress and raise their own flag and you’re not going to allow that to happen.”
The men’s water polo team is anxious to have their first home game backed by their familiar supportive fan base.
Senior attacker Preston Lujan said that a victory for the Wave’s could come easily at home.
“If we get a good turn out and the energy of the crowd is there then yes our chances of winning will be raised Lujan said.
The next match against Long Beach will be the first home game for the Waves, Saturday at 11 a.m. at the Raleighs-Runnels Pool.
