STANFORD, Calif. – The No. 8 UC Santa Barbara men's water polo team earned its fourth win in five tries on Friday on day one of the MPSF Invite at Stanford, defeating No. 11 Pepperdine, 11-10.
The Gauchos improve to 7-4 overall while dropping the Waves to 4-7.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Goalscorers: Chambliss (3), Zamanian (3), Brosnan, Sutter, Hawkins, Gregory, Coons
Redshirt freshman attacker Brock Zamanian scored two of his team-leading three goals in the first quarter, which ended in a 3-3 tie. His next goal in the opening minute of the second period started the Gauchos' decisive run. Will Coons would later score with 3:14 left before halftime, capping a run of four unanswered goals to give UCSB a commanding 7-3 lead.
Pepperdine fought its way back into the game, as Anthony D'Ambra put one in the back of the net on the Waves' final possession of the third to bring them within a goal, 9-8.
In the fourth and final frame, the Gauchos got the goals they needed to keep the Waves at bay. Logan Sutter made it 10-8 at the 5:50 mark, and Colton Gregory put the Gauchos up 11-9 with 1:37 left to seal the win.
Goalkeeper Danny Roland finished with eight saves, playing the entire 32 minutes of the match.
NEXT UP
On day two of the MPSF Invite, the Gauchos will play in the first game at 8:00 a.m. at Avery Stadium against No. 1 Cal.
