Men's Water Polo

Player of the Year Comes Up Big in OT as No. 2 San José State Heads to West Coast Conference Men’s Water Polo Tournament Championship Game

The Spartans will take on the winner of No. 1 Pacific and No. 5 California Baptist

USAFA, Colo. – A top-10 showdown between CWPA No. 9 Pepperdine and No. 10 San Jose State in the West Coast Conference Men’s Water Polo Tournament semifinals did not disappoint as the second-seeded Spartans earned a hard-fought 13-12 overtime victory over third-seeded Pepperdine Saturday afternoon. The Spartans advanced to the conference title match for the third consecutive year. 
 
In a tightly-contested affair, Pepperdine’s Erik Ionescu found the back of the net with 4:52 left in the fourth to give the Waves a 11-10 edge. San Jose State’s Samu Biros found the back of the cage with 24 seconds remaining to tie it up and send it to overtime. 
 

West Coast Conference Player of the Year Brendon Gyapjas, who showed up big in the fourth quarter, continued to excel in the two overtime periods, holding the Waves to just one goal in the final 10 seconds of the second overtime period. 
 
Meanwhile, Sam Keightley led the Spartan offense with five goals on the day, none more important than his score in the final minute of the first overtime period. Erik Duesund put San Jose State up by two goals in the second overtime period. Pepperdine got one goal back with 18 seconds left, but ran out of time as the Spartans outlasted the Waves, 13-12.  
 

Four of Keightley’s five goals came in the second half and overtime. Gyapjas had a total of 11 saves on the day. 
 
The Waves had taken an early advantage in the contest as Jon Carcarey rattled the cage just 17 seconds into the match. 
 

The Spartans did not take long to answer back with a goal of their own. Mateja Bosic was able to put San José State on the board just 26 seconds later for the first tie of the game. Pepperdine outscored San José State in the first half 6-4 to take the early lead. 
 
The second half saw a lot of back and forth scoring between the two. In total, there were four different ties in the second half, including as time expired at the end of the fourth period to create overtime. 
 
This was the first time an overtime occurred in the West Coast Conference Men’s Water Polo Tournament since it began in 2023.
 
San José State will take on the winner of No. 1 Pacific and No. 5 California Baptist on Sunday to crown the next West Coast Conference Men’s Water Polo Champion. Follow along on ESPN+ for all the action!