Santa Barbara, Calif.—After claiming their first Mountain Pacific Sports Federation conference win last weekend against UC Irvine, No. 3 UC Santa Barbara (15-6, 1-3) fell to No. 6 Pepperdine University (13-7, 3-2) in conference action by the score of 11-7. This was the second meeting of the season for the two teams as UCSB got the best of the Waves in the Northern California Invitational with the final score being 8-4.

In the opening period of the match, Pepperdine got on the scoreboard first with a 6:04 goal by Matthew Detrane. With 2:08 left in the period, Matt Gronow tied the game for the Gauchos. UC Santa Barbara started off great as Teddy Zhang's two meter goal and Evan Dellinger's score gave UCSB the 3-1 lead after one period.

With a 6-on-5 goal from Stephen Loomis and another goal from Matthew DeTrane, the Waves tied the game 3-3 with 5:17 left in the half. The Gauchos fell behind 4-3, but with a goal from Brendan McElroy with 3:02 remaining, the game was once again in a tie. Sophomore, Jake Miller had a beautiful fast break goal to give UCSB the lead but Pepperdine's Mark Madaras had two late goals to give the Waves the 6-5 lead at the half.

The third period is where Pepperdine extended their lead as they held the Gauchos scoreless in the period. With several ejections being called on UC Santa Barbara, the Waves really took advantage offensively. Going back towards the end of the second period, the Waves scored five unanswered goals as they held the edge over UCSB with a 9-5 lead going into the final period.

UCSB seemed to gain momentum late as they cut the lead to 9-7 with goals from Eric Van de Mortel and Matt Gronow. Despite the tough defensive effort of the Gauchos, Pepperdine's Colin Carroll scored with 4:03 remaining to increase their lead to 10-7. As the game was near the end, coach Wigo used his timeouts wisely to give his team the best opportunity to score and come back in the game. Despite the wise time management of coach Wigo, Pepperdine ended the game victorious, 11-7.

Leading the Gauchos offense with two goals was Matt Gronow as Teddy Zhang, Brendan McElroy, Jake Miller, Evan Dellinger and Eric Van de Mortel add one goal apiece. Senior goalie Myles Christian had another stellar day as he recorded 11 saves.

UC Santa Barbara will be on the road the next two weeks with their next match being against No. 1 USC at McDonald's Swim Stadium on. Nov. 3 with the game time not yet announced. Along on their road trip, the Gauchos will play at Pacific on Nov. 10 and at Cal on Nov. 11 with both matches being at noon. A lot is at stake these next few weeks as all three road matches are conference games.

Tickets for home men's water polo games are available by visiting the Ticket Office in the Intercollegiate Athletics Building on campus, by calling (805) 893-UCSB or by clicking here. 

Pepperdine Goals: Stephen Loomis (3), Marko Madaras (3), Matthew DeTrane (2), Nick Cooper, Spencer Hamby, Colin Carrol
Pepperdine Saves: Bence Valics (13)

UCSB Goals: Matt Gronow (2), Teddy Zhang, Brendan McElroy, Jake Miller, Evan Dellinger, Eric Van de Mortel
UCSB Saves: Myles Christian (11)