The Long Beach State men’s water polo team almost had a perfect 4-0 weekend, but let a late lead slip away against No. 3 California, 15-14, on Sunday at the Ken Lindgren Aquatics Center.
Despite losing a back-and-forth battle against Cal, the 49ers (9-11, 1-4 MPSF) did win games against Whittier College, Pepperdine and Long Beach City College.
On Sunday, LBSU was in front by one goal against head coach Gavin Arroyo’s alma mater, Cal, with 1:36 remaining in the fourth period. But Cal’s freshman attacker Johnny Hooper scored a game-tying goal that forced the match into overtime.
“[The 49ers] are tough here; they’re tough, period,” Cal head coach Kirk Everist said. “We knew we were going to have a handful, and I thought we came out really well and set the tone.”
Cal (17-4, 3-1 MPSF) scored two goals early in the first overtime period, going 14-12. But the 49ers quickly overcame the two-goal deficit, with goals from sophomores Lovro Miocevic and Jacob Fujioka.
In double overtime and with a six-on-five power play, freshman defender Odysseas Masmanidis netted the go-ahead goal that gave the Bears a 15-14 lead.
“It got close enough where it became a battle down the stretch,” Everist said. “It seemed like we were down a goal there pretty much the whole time after the fourth quarter started. We’d score, they’d score, we’d score, and we kept trading goals. But we had to make a play in order to get out of here with a victory.”
Sunday afternoon’s double overtime game was LBSU’s second overtime game in as many days. Arroyo said the 49ers lost out on a good chance to take down No. 3 Cal because of the fatigue.
“It’s a little bit of even-flow through the season,” Arroyo said. “Sometimes a win like yesterday’s [against Pepperdine] can get you back on track or it can derail you. Cal’s coming off a tough loss to UCLA yesterday, so today was a good opportunity for us.”
LBSU ended the weekend with an 11-10 win over Long Beach City College.
In the first period, the 49ers showed signs of fatigue. LBCC’s freshman attacker Giorgio La Rosa scored five goals in the first half giving his team a 4-1 lead at the end of the first period, but LBSU answered back in the second half by outscoring LBCC 8-4.
The 49ers overcame a three goal first-half deficit to get their first conference win in Malibu, defeating the Waves 11-10 on Saturday. Redshirt freshman defender Austin Stevenson scored the game-winning goal, with 30 seconds into the sudden death overtime period.
On Thursday night LBSU defeated Whittier College (12-8, 1-0 SCIAC) 15-8 at the Ken Lindgren Aquatics Center.
Both teams scored four goals in the first period, but the 49ers took control of the tempo in the second period and added three goals. By halftime, the 49ers led 5-2. And they never looked back.
49ers redshirt freshman Chandler Kaltenbacch and sophomore center Duncan Lynde each had a hat trick in the game.
LBSU will host another double-header on Saturday against No. 5 Stanford and Golden West College at the Ken Lindgren Aquatics Center.