With the new season only days away, LBSU’s young, injury plagued men’s water polo team looks to make its first NCAA Tournament appearance since 1991.
The 49ers will return only two of their top scorers and their starting goalkeeper from 2014. Arroyo, who will enter his 10th season in charge, said making the NCAA Tournament is always the goal at LBSU regardless of health and inexperience.
“Obviously some years you’ve got better chances than other years,” Arroyo said. “But I think that the program’s goal is always to get a shot to go to [the NCAA Tournament].”
The 49ers finished fourth in the MPSF with a 5-3 record last year and compiled an impressive 20-7 overall record. 2014 was Arroyo’s third 20-win season in a row; the most consecutive 20-win seasons in 49er men’s water polo history.
As the fourth seed in the MPSF Tournament, the 49ers defeated No. 5 seed California 9-6 in the quarterfinal. Then, in a semifinal matchup with No. 1 UCLA, LBSU upset the Bruins 5-3.
The 49ers moved on to host the No. 2 Stanford Cardinal in the championship game. LBSU and Stanford were tied 8-8 late in the fourth quarter before the Cardinal threw in a goal with 15 seconds left that crushed the 49ers’ hopes of their first MPSF title.
“I think I’ll be thinking about [that game] for a long time,” Arroyo said. “But, on the other hand you have to move on. Stuff happens, to use a euphemism. You can’t sit around living in the past.”
Despite the impressive finish, and being minutes away from a title, the 49ers missed out on a chance at participating in the NCAA Tournament.
This year, the MPSF head coaches didn’t give the 49ers much love in the 2015 preseason poll. They picked LBSU to finish in sixth place behind UCLA, USC, California, Stanford and Pacific.
Arroyo summed up the team’s ranking to injuries and the departure of key seniors. However, he said he believes that the MPSF coaches’ rankings might have even been generous.
“I don’t know if a lot of the coaches even knew about some of the injuries,” Arroyo said. “We’ll see how it shakes out.”
Arroyo wouldn’t comment on the injuries afflicting his team, but did reveal that he’s missing six players; some of them key figures. One confirmed absence is senior attacker Nolan McConnell, who will redshirt the 2015 season. McConnell was second on the team last year with 47 goals.
LBSU will start three freshmen and two sophomores in their first game on Saturday, Arroyo said. Yet he remains excited about the new season and his newest players.
“Usually younger players need some time to adjust and be successful,” Arroyo said. “We’re going to try and bridge that gap as quickly as we can. That’ll determine how well we do.”
The 49ers start the season this weekend with four games as part of the Triton Invitational in La Jolla. LBSU will take on Redlands and No. 7 UC Santa Barbara on Saturday, followed by No. 14 Loyola Marymount and No. 5 Pacific on Sunday.