The Long Beach State men’s water polo team surrendered three goals and was held scoreless in the second quarter against No. 3 Stanford in an 11-6 loss at the 49er Campus Pool on Saturday.
The Beach (8-10, 1-5 Mountain Pacific Sports Federation) ended up giving the Cardinal (18-1, 5-0 MPSF) a four-goal lead that they would only build upon in the second half on the way to victory.
LBSU head coach Gavin Arroyo credited Stanford’s opportunistic play during the match.
“They are a great team, when you make mistakes they make you pay for them, and they are good at that,” Arroyo said.
The MPSF showdown opened with back-to-back goals from Stanford, followed by a goal from 49er Shane Luth at the 3:41 mark. Seconds later, Stanford’s Drac Wago scored one of his game-high five goals, putting the Cardinal advantage at 3-1.
Alexsandr Petrovic netted a goal with 8 seconds remaining in the opening quarter off an exclusion penalty and subsequent power play, bringing the 49ers within one heading into the second quarter.
The second half opened with a score from Petrovic on a five-meter penalty shot, his first of two goals in the third period. ‘Niner Justin Koeppen added a goal with 37 seconds remaining in the quarter, pulling The Beach to within three.
The Cardinal scored the first three goals of the final quarter, putting them up by the score of 11-5. LBSU’s Matt Farrington capped off the scoring for the ‘Niners on a power play goal at the 3:13 mark of the final quarter.
Coach Arroyo said the 49er have to stick to their game scheme.
“We just keep trying to play our game,” he said.
The ‘Niners will face Coach Arroyo’s alma mater, No. 2 California tomorrow at noon at the 49er Campus Pool.