Now on a five-game losing streak, the No. 7 Long Beach State men’s water polo team has dropped to a .500 mark, standing at 9-9 on the season and 0-2 in Golden Coast Conference play.
On Friday, the 49ers went up against the No. 9 Pepperdine Waves in their first conference road game of the season. LBSU struggled to get the offense going against the Waves, only scoring two goals through the first three quarters of the game.
Pepperdine’s defense proved to be too suffocating as the 49ers fell 10-5. Senior utility man Jacob Fujioka led LBSU on offense with two goals, both coming in the fourth quarter.
With a short turnaround after a frustrating loss, the 49ers were met with the No. 2 UCLA Bruins on Saturday night at the Spieker Aquatics Center. UCLA jumped out to a 4-1 lead in the second quarter and never trailed for the rest of the game.
Heading into the final frame, LBSU trailed 5-4. Sophomore attacker Nemanja Bakic and senior center Duncan Lynde scored goals, but it was not enough as the Bruins came out on top with an 8-6 win.
UCLA’s offense was led by a hat trick from freshman attacker Nicolas Saveljic, who helped the Bruins to their 100th all-time win against the 49ers.
Next up for LBSU is a home matchup at 6 p.m, Wednesday at the Ken Lindgren Aquatics Center against the No. 12 UC San Diego Tritons.