WESTCHESTER, Calif. — No. 14 LMU defeated No. 11 Pepperdine 13-10 in their return to the newly renovated Burns Aquatic Center on Friday, October 3rd. The Lions opened up conference play with a win in their home opener in front of a packed crowd.
The Lions started the scoring on
Nick Leung's goal at 7:21 in the first quarter before Pepperdine answered with two straight goals, including Hunter Danko's penalty shot at 4:43. Loyola Marymount responded with consecutive goals by
Gabrijel Burburan at 4:24,
Soren Martin at 3:05 and
Mateo Obando on a power play at 2:15, then Leung added another at :34 after Pepperdine scored at 1:50. The second quarter moved back and forth, with Pepperdine scoring at 6:20, 2:57 and :50 while the Lions answered through
Nico Furneaux at 5:53 and
Caden Poulleau at 2:19. Loyola Marymount opened the third quarter with three straight goals from Leung at 6:41, Furneaux at 4:37 and Burburan at 3:27, and
Bence Barics added a goal at :49 after Pepperdine scored at 1:24. Poulleau scored on a power play at 6:54 in the fourth quarter before Pepperdine put together goals at 6:26 and 4:35, and Burburan scored at 1:14 before Pepperdine closed the scoring at :18; the Lions finished with 13 goals on 36 shots to Pepperdine's 10 on 32.
Leung scored three goals on five shots and added an assist for Loyola Marymount. Burburan also finished with three goals on five shots and collected two steals. Poulleau tallied two goals, two assists, two field blocks and a steal.
Roman Saroyan posted three assists, one steal and one exclusion drawn.
The Lions are 9-6 overall and are ranked No. 14 nationally. Pepperdine is 6-9 overall and is ranked No. 11 nationally.
Up next, the Lions travel to Moraga, California, to face Saint Mary's on Friday, Oct. 9, at 6:30 p.m.
