STOCKTON, Calif. – The Pacific men's water polo team took down Pepperdine, 17-13, on Saturday night at Chris Kjeldsen Pool to advance to the NCAA Men's Water Polo National Championship match on Sunday afternoon.
 
Using the strength of their home pool and crowd, the Tigers caught fire in the second period and never looked back, taking down the Waves for the second time this season.
 
Luke Pavillard paced the offense with five goals while Jeremie Cote, Luis Araya and Djordje Stanic each scored twice in the victory.
 
 
WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW:

• Making their third appearance in the NCAA Tournament over the last seven seasons, the Tigers advanced to the national title game for the first time since 2013 in the win over Pepperdine.
• Redshirt senior and three-time GCC Player of the Year Luke Pavillard shined on offense throughout the entire match, scoring five goals for the second time this season. The Perth, Australia native also tallied five in UOP's 17-16 win over UC Santa Barbara on Oct. 20.
• Eight different Tigers found the back of the cage on Saturday night, including five players who scored at least two goals.

 
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT:

• The Waves outshot Pacific 36-33, but the Tigers were more efficient with their selection, recording a .521 shot overall percentage compared to Pepperdine's .361 mark.
• UOP took advantage of key opportunities when they needed to, converting all four of their five-meter penalty shots against their GCC rival.
• The Tigers also began every quarter with the ball in their hands, winning all four sprints in the contest.

 
FIRST PERIOD:

• Although the Waves would notch the game's first point, freshman Djordje Stanic evened the match at one midway through the opening frame (4:30).
• Pavillard scored the first of his game-high five goals on a five-meter penalty shot at 3:09 in the first period, cutting Pepperdine's early lead to 3-2.
• Following a Stanic goal at the 2:39 mark, Pacific trailed the Waves, 4-3, at the end of the first quarter of play.
   

SECOND PERIOD:

• Catching fire to open the second period, UOP scored back-to-back points on goals from GCC Newcomer of the Year Jeremie Cote and Pavillard to take their first lead of the evening, 5-4, at 4:25.
• Finding their rhythm on offense, Cote and Matthew Hosmer, who were both selected to the 2019 GCC All-Freshmen Team, netted goals at 2:31 and 1:43 on assists from Stanic.
• After senior Luis Araya's scored his first goal with 51 seconds left in the half, the Tigers were out in front of the Waves, 8-5, at the break.

 
THIRD PERIOD:

• Kicking of the third in style, Pavillard found the back of the cage for the third time in the match just 38 seconds into the second half, keep Pacific on top of Pepperdine, 9-5.
• Despite two straight goals from the Waves, Araya countered with his second of the game on a five-meter penalty shot at 4:43.
• Dominating his opponent throughout the night, Pavillard scored his final two goals at 3:32 and 3:01 before senior Andrea De Nardi scored with 16 seconds remaining in the third period. The Tigers lead at the end of three, 13-8.

 
FOURTH PERIOD:

• Picking up right where he left off, De Nardi netted his second of the night less than a minute into the fourth, giving the Tigers a six-point advantage over the Waves with a little over seven minutes remaining in regulation.
• Joining the goal party, Engin Ege Colak and Eli Lule both scored their lone goals of the match at 6:26 and 3:20 respectively.
• Stanic also completed the hat trick at the 5:28 mark in the third on an assist from Cote.
• Pepperdine would make a late run with three goals to close the match, but the Tigers would hang on to take down the Waves for the second time in Stockton this season, winning by a final score of 17-13 to advance to the NCAA Men's Water Polo National Championship.

 
WHATS NEXT: Pacific will face the top-seeded Stanford Cardinal today, Sunday, December 8 at 3:00 pm as they make their first appearance in the national title game since 2013. Overall, UOP is looking to capture their first-ever title in program history. The game will be broadcast live through ncaa.com as Greg Mescall will have the call from Stockton. Live stream and live stat links are available on pacifictigers.com.
 
FOLLOW US: For updates and more information on Pacific men's water polo, be sure to follow along on Twitter @UOPWaterPoloU, Instagram @PacificWaterPolo and on Facebook @PacificMensWaterPolo.