Men's Sports, Men's Water Polo, Sports

Men’s water polo team to open MPSF play at UCI

After having more than a week of preparation, the Long Beach State men’s water polo team will open up its Mountain Pacific Sports Federation campaign on Thursday against UC Irvine.

The last time LBSU played the Anteaters came at the end of the SoCal tournament and saw the ‘Niners getting the edge 13-10 in overtime.

“That was a really emotional and close game,” sophomore Zacchary Kappos said.

LBSU (16-5) will be looking to emerge victorious at the Anteater Aquatics Center but will have to battle a well-disciplined Anteater squad and their home crowd in the process.

“They’re a very quick team that drives a lot,” Kappos said. “Our drive defense has to be stellar, and we can’t get ejected.”

While the win over the Anteaters to end the SoCal tournament acted as a strong win for the 49ers, Thursday night’s game will have larger MPSF implications. The previous game had no influence on the conference standings, and Thursday’s will.

“We want to send the message that we’re better than them,” Kappos said.

Looking further into the weekend, LBSU will face off in another strong MPSF matchup against UC Santa Barbara.

LBSU has already lost to the Gauchos twice this season, the most recent loss coming in overtime in the SoCal tournament.

The ‘Niners will look to avenge their early season losses to the Gauchos by focusing all their energy into producing strong play in front of their home crowd.

“After losing to them twice, a win at home is just what we need,” Kappos said.

The next two games for the ‘Niners promise to be highly-competitive affairs, and they will try to stick to a game plan that involves a cohesive effort.

“We just have to play our game and work together,” Kappos said.

The 49ers will be playing at UCI on Thursday night at 7p.m. and against UCSB on Saturday at noon at the campus pool.

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published.

Daily 49er newsletter

Instagram