No. 2 UCLA Crushes No. 5 Pepperdine, 15-9
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LOS ANGELES -- No. 2 UCLA (3-2, 2-2 MPSF) never trailed and used a 3-0 scoring run in the second period to put No. 5 Pepperdine (2-1, 0-0 GCC) away in the Bruins' home opener on Saturday at Dirks Pool at Spieker Aquatics Center.
Freshman Mo Kenney, playing in his first game as a Bruin, led all scorers with five goals on just six shots. Sophomore Bernardo Maurizi earned the start in goal and registered six saves while allowing five goals in three periods. Redshirt freshman Chase Honaker saw the first action of his career in the cage and tallied three saves while surrendering four goals in the fourth quarter.
The Bruins led 3-2 at the end of the first period, getting goals from freshman Tanner Pulice (power play - 5:58), Kenney (full strength - 1:43) and senior Nicolas Saveljic (power play - 0:32). UCLA also won the second period by a score of 3-2 to build a 6-4 advantage by the half. Kenney scored his second of the game on a power play (7:07) and then senior Chasen Travisano scored on a power play (1:55). Sophomore Tommy Gruwell fired a heater at the buzzer that found the back of the net to cement the two-goal lead.
UCLA used a 4-1 edge in the decisive third period to put the game out of reach for the visiting Waves, which trailed 10-5 heading in the final period. Pulice added his second of the game to open the scoring in the third (6:29) with a sweet off-speed shot. The Bruins scored the final three goals of the third, which included a power play goal from sophomore Andy Rodgers (3:25), a goal at even strength by redshirt junior Evan Rosenfeld (2:48), and then Kenney completed his hat trick with a strike from the front court (0:28).
Kenney also led off the fourth with a score (7:01) followed by a second goal from Rosenfeld (5:35). Saveljic netted his second on a power play (4:35) and Rosenfeld answered with a power play score of his own (3:06) to complete his hat trick. Kenney scored his fifth of the contest with 1:00 minute remaining, which was followed by a goal from Pepperdine's Nicholas Fichmann (0:39) to provide the 15-9 final.
Kent Emden registered 10 saves for Pepperdine while giving up 15 goals. Kaden Kaneko and Balazs Kosa led the Waves with two scores apiece.
The Bruins return to action on Saturday, Feb. 6 when they take on No. 2 California (2-2, 2-2 MPSF) at USC's Uytengsu Aquatics Center.
No. 5 Pepperdine at No. 2 UCLA (Bruins' Home Opener)
| SCOREBOARD | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | FINAL |
| No. 5 Pepperdine | 2 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 9 |
| No. 2 UCLA | 3 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 15 |
6x5 - UCLA - 7/14 - PEP - 4/9
Penalties - UCLA - 0/0 - PEP - 0/0
UCLA Goals: Mo Kenney 5, Evan Rosenfeld 3, Nicolas Saveljic 2, Tanner Pulice 2, Andy Rodgers 1, Chasen Travisano 1, Tommy Gruwell 1
UCLA Saves: Bernardo Maurizi 6, Chase Honaker 3
PEP Goals: Kaden Kaneko 2, Balazs Kosa 2, Nicholas Fichmann 1, Nico Tierney 1, Coleman Carpenter 1, Michael Dakis 1, Sean Ferrari 1
PEP Saves: Kent Emden 10