Sept. 27, 2008

MALIBU, CALIF. - The No. 4-ranked Cal men's water polo team (6-3, 0-1) dropped its third match in a row with a 7-5 defeat at No. 6-ranked Pepperdine (7-3, 1-0) Saturday, Sept. 27 in an MPSF match at Raleigh-Runnels Pool in Malibu. Redshirt freshman Brian Roach led the Golden Bears with two goals, while Frank Reynolds, Trent Calder and Charlie Steffens also added scores. Sophomore goalie Jacob McIntosh finished with eight saves. The Waves were paced by goalkeeper John Hahn's 16 saves, and two goals apiece from Grant Miller and Clayton Snyder.

Snyder set the tone for Pepperdine scoring the first goal of the match with 7:43 left in the first period on a Pepperdine power play. Senior Adam Hewko followed up with another goal at 6:23 to give the Waves a 2-0 lead. Cal answered back with its first goal of the contest by Roach with 4:42 remaining in the opening period. Hewko scored on a 6-on-5 opportunity to end the first quarter, 2-2.

In the second period, Miller took advantage of a Cal ejection with 6:30 on the clock to give the Waves a one-point lead, 3-2. Junior J.P. MacDonell added another goal for Pepperdine just 26 seconds later for a 4-2 advantage. The Waves continued their offensive run with a third goal for the period by junior Taylor Watson for a 5-2 Wave lead. The Bears ended the Pepperdine run with 2:28 left in the first half with a goal by senior captain Trent Calder to get within, 5-3.

Both teams put forth strong defensive efforts in the third quarter with Miller scoring another goal for the Waves on a power play at 4:27 to go ahead 6-3. Cal freshman Charlie Steffens responded with a goal for the Bears on a 6-on-5 opportunity with 1:29 on the clock. With just four seconds remaining Snyder scored the final goal of the third period to put Pepperdine up by three, 7-4.

Neither team managed a goal in the fourth period until Roach scored in the last second for the final, 7-5, margin.

"Pepperdine came out strong and played very well defensively," said Cal coach Kirk Everist. "We have a lot of work to do on the offensive end. We are not executing as well as I would like. Defensively we played solid again but we had some key breakdowns that led to goals that were not contested. The good news is we are early in the season and improvement will come."

The Bears will next return home to play Pacific on Saturday, Oct. 4 at 9:30 a.m. at Spieker Aquatics Complex. Following the Pacific match, Cal will be hosting an Alumni match, beginning at 11:15 a.m..

PEPPERDINE vs. CALIFORNIA
CAL       2     1    1      1   -  5
PEPP      2     3    2      0  -   7

CAL Goals (Brian Roach 2, Frank Reynolds 1, Trent Calder 1, Charles
Steffens 1) 5

PEPP Goals (Grant Miller 2, Clayton Snyder 2, Adam Hewko 1, J.P.
MacDonell 1, Taylor Watson 1) 7

Goalkeeper Saves: John Hahn (PEPP) 16, Jacob McInto (CAL) 8.

Assts
1 Luka Saponjic, Charlie Steffens, Trent Calder, Mike Sample

Steals
1 Scott Cruikshank, Brian Dudley, Trent Calder

Ejections Earned
1 Luka Saponjic, Trent Calder, Thomas Pearson, Brian Roach

Field Blocks
1 Spencer Rodman, Trent Calder

Goalie Stats
Jacob McIntosh (4 qtrs)
Saves 8
Steals 1
6 on 5 4 for 8
5 on 6 4 for 10