By Erica Sigman
Staff Writer
Sophomore utility man Jesse Smith scored four goals Saturday for the Waves, helping them climb to the top of their conference. No. 6 ranked Pepperdine defeated, No. 12 University of California Santa Barbara 8-6, putting the Waves in first place in Mountain Pacific Sports Federation standings.
This was the third time the Waves met and beat the Gauchos. The Waves improved their record to 12-7 overall and 6-1 in league play. Right behind Pepperdine is California Berkeley and the University of Southern California, both with two losses each in league standings. In order for the Waves to hold their number one spot, they have to defeat the California Golden Bears this weekend at the Bear’s home pool.
The game began a close one, with the Waves and Gauchos tied 1-1 in the first quarter. They were tied once again in the fourth quarter 4-4.
“Santa Barbara is a really tough place to play,” Assistant Coach Jack Kocur said. “They really bring out their fans.”
Despite the obstacles, the team said the game shouldn’t have been so close.
“We came out flat again,” senior goalkeeper Michael Soltis said. “We played down to their level. We just pulled it through in the last three minutes.”
Fellow teammates agreed that the game was closer that expected.
After three quarters of play, the Waves finally pulled it together to win.
“Everyone got fired up and we won,” Smith said.
Smith came through with the clutch, putting up three goals to secure the Pepperdine victory.
Along with Smith, sophomore two-meter man Josh Acosta, junior driver John Ashby, senior driver William Rodriguez and junior driver Philip Spataru all contributed a goal a piece to the Waves score.
While the Pepperdine offense came out strong, it was accompanied by a dominating defense. Senior goalkeeper Soltis racked up an impressive nine blocked shots.
The Waves are in the first place slot in MPSF standings as of now, but this weekend will test if the Waves deserve to hold that position. This Saturday the Waves will travel to Northern California to battle with the Bears and try to retain their place at the top of their league.
“This is the biggest game of the year so far,” Kocur said. “Each day we’ve been preparing for their tactics.”
The attitude of the team is positive going into the month of November.
“I feel really confident,” Smith said. “This is the key point of our season. If we go into the MPSF tournament ranked No. 1, we’d have a better chance of winning the tournament, putting us in the NCAA tournament.”
While there is no question that the pressure is on, the Waves still need to pull together to display their peak physical, as well as emotional performance if they want to leave Berkeley with a win.
“We just need to be on the same page,” Soltis said. “I’m very confident we can beat them.”
November 07, 2002