Oct. 29, 2016

DAVIS, Calif. - Junior goalkeeper Spencer Creed tallied 11 saves and three steals while sophomores Ido Goldschmidt and Marcus Anderson each scored two goals, lifting No. 8 UC Davis to a 10-9 win over No. 8 Pepperdine in a non-conference men's water polo game at a packed Schaal Aquatics Center Saturday afternoon.

The Aggies improve to 19-4 overall. The Waves move to 11-10 for the year. Both teams tied for the No. 8 spot in Wednesday's national coaches' poll. Goldschmidt, who scored the game-winner in the fourth, and Anderson were among eight different UC Davis scorers in the contest. Eric Martel, Sasa Antunovic, Cory Laidig, Nick Coufal, Yurii Hanley and Morgan Olson-Fabbro each found the back of the net. Laidig, Antunovic and Hanley also had two steals apiece. For Pepperdine, sophomore utility Marko Asic led all scorers with three goals while Mate Toth and Mark Urban added two. Urban also assisted on three scores. Junior goalie Zack Rhodes tallied 12 saves against UC Davis' 30 total attempts. "To be down by two goals a couple of different times and come up victorious at the end is really just a testament to our guys, how they never give up, and how hard they work, day in and day out," said Aggie head coach Daniel Leyson. "I'm not going to deny that it's a big win for our program to beat a team that's traditionally ranked ahead of us. These are the things we have to do to reach our goals." Creed posted most of his goalie stats in the first half, stopping eight of the 14 Pepperdine shots against. Martel opened the contest with a goal at set while Antunovic and Anderson struck early in the second to push the Aggies to a 3-1 lead by the 6:44 mark. However, the Waves hit three unanswered to finish the half, taking a 4-3 edge at the break. Toth and sophomore defender Sean Thomas each completed power plays in that run. Laidig converted an assist from Riley Venne to equalize at 4-4 minutes after the halftime break, the first of four second-half ties in the game. However, Urban assisted Justin Cowan on a goal then scored one of his own minutes later to propel the Waves back to a 6-4 lead by the 3:38 mark in the third. Again, UC Davis rallied back. Coufal scored after the next restart, then assisted Hanley on a goal with 2:29 to go for a 6-6 tie. Pepperdine restored its lead with a five-meter penalty shot by Asic with 2:06 left in that pivotal third frame. Hanley and Laidig posted field blocks in the final minute to keep the Waves from extending their edge. Goldschmidt countered down the right side of the course, drew an ordinary foul, then launched in his first goal of the game with just seven seconds left in the quarter to tie the game at 7-7. "Cory Laidig is always doing that stuff, always doing the dirty work," said Leyson. "Then Yurii had that huge field block, he just does it again and again. That's a sign, in my eyes, of a real team. We don't just rely on one player, there are a lot of people who can contribute, and we certainly saw it today." UC Davis took the lead early in the fourth when Goldschmidt drew an exclusion then assisted Anderson for the power-play goal. But Pepperdine answered on the next trip down: Brock Liebhardt passed out to an open Toth at the 1 spot, and Toth buried the shot to set the board at 8-8. Olson-Fabbro put the Aggies back on top on the next possession, taking an entry pass from Antunovic and delivering a backhand shot into the net. Again, Pepperdine responded, drawing an exclusion then getting an Asic perimeter strike as the 6-on-5 clock expired. Hanley and Creed came up with big blocks to protect the UC Davis cage during the next few minutes. Then on an after-timeout play, Goldschmidt drew an ordinary just beyond the five-meter marker. He fired high right into the cage for the final go-ahead goal. Hanley came up with another steal, Anderson had a field block against Urban and Creed posted his 11th save on an Asic attempt during the next three Pepperdine trips down the course. The Waves managed to gain possession with 13 seconds left, but the UC Davis press prevented any movement beyond midtank in preserving the win. Saturday's victory marks the highest-ranked opponent the Aggies have beaten since the opening weekend of the 2015 season. UC Davis topped then-No. 8 Pepperdine by a 9-7 final at UC San Diego's Triton Invitational. The Aggies finish Western Water Polo Association play with home games against Loyola Marymount and UC San Diego on Thursday and Saturday, respectively.

No. 8 Pepperdine (11-10)	1	3	3	2	-	9
No. 8 UC Davis (19-4)	1	2	4	3	-	10

GOALS - PEP: Marko Asic 3, Mark Urban 2, Mate Toth 2, Sean Thomas 1, Justin Cowan 1. UC DAVIS: Marcus Anderson 2, Ido Goldschmidt 2, Eric Martel 1, Sasa Antunovic 1, Cory Laidig 1, Nick Coufal 1, Yurii Hanley 1, Morgan Olson-Fabbro 1. GOALIE SAVES - PEP: Zack Rhodes 12 (32:00). UC DAVIS: Spencer Creed 11 (32:00).