Nov. 27, 2004

STANFORD, CA - The No. 4-ranked California men's water polo team lost another tough match at the 2004 MPSF Tournament, falling to No. 7-ranked Pepperdine, 4-3, Saturday at Stanford's Avery Aquatic Complex.

The Waves' Nick Corjon scored what proved to be the winning goal with 42 seconds remaining in the third period as Pepperdine (15-13) upset the Golden Bears (19-10). The Waves had held a 3-1 lead at halftime, and barely withstood Cal's comeback as the Bears were able to blank Pepperdine in the final period. Cal cut the Waves' margin to only one goal with 3:07 remaining in the match on a score by freshman Michael Sharf, but Pepperdine goalkeeper Robbie Miller collected a tournament-high 18 saves to hold the Waves' lead.

Junior Tom Kurth and freshman Zac Monsees also tallied goals for the Bears. Junior goalie Nate Bennett finished with seven saves for Cal. The Bears will now face UC Santa Barbara in the seventh-place match, Sunday, Nov. 28 at 12 p.m. Cal had fallen to defending national champion USC, 10-8 in overtime, in Friday's first-round match.

Pep 1 2 1 0 = 4
Cal 1 0 1 1 = 3
Pepperdine Scorers: Hewko, Mann,
Digges, Corjon
California Scorers: Monsees, Kurth, Sharf
Goalie Saves: Miller (P) 18; Bennett (C) 7

Saturday's Results - Second Round of MPSF Tournament
Avery Aquatic Center - Stanford University
Stanford 8, USC 5
Pepperdine 4, California 3
UCLA 10, UC Irvine 6
Long Beach State 14, UC Santa Barbara 12 (ot)

Sunday's Schedule - MPSF Tournament
Noon - 7th place: UCSB (18-13) vs Cal (19-10)
1:30 p.m. - 5th place: LBS (16-12) vs Pepp (15-13)
3:00 p.m. - 3rd place: UC Irvine (16-13) vs USC (22-5)
4:30 p.m. - 1st place: UCLA (23-2) vs Stanford (21-4)
(televised live on CSTV)