Turnovers plagued the Long Beach State men’s water polo team and fueled the California offense, leading to a frustrating result for The Beach Sunday at the 49er Campus Pool.
The 49ers (8-11, 1-6 Mountain Pacific Sports Federation) surrendered an 8-3 run in the second and third quarters Sunday against No. 2 California (18-4, 5-1 MPSF), putting the game out of reach and leading to an eventual 13-7 loss.
‘Niner head coach Gavin Arroyo credited lack of ball security for the loss.
“We just threw the ball away too much,” Arroyo said. “When you throw the ball away and have unforced errors, it just puts them in a position to attack.”
The 49ers’ Matt Farrington scored first for The Beach with a goal created from a hustle play for a loose ball and subsequent assist from Shane Luth. Farrington capped off the first quarter with an assist on a Justin Koeppen goal with 1:47 remaining.
LBSU added two more goals before the half, with the first coming from Carter Taylor courtesy of an assist from Shane Luth. Patrick van der Linde followed with a rocket from 12 meters, making the score 8-4 in favor of Stanford heading into the second half.
The second half was dominated by Stanford’s aggressive defense.
“They are a solid team, they press up really hard and they push the counter,” 49er sophmore Matt Farrington said. “They are a really fast-paced team, and you have to be ready at all times.”
The Beach scored on a 5-meter penalty shot in the third quarter taken by Justin Koeppen, and entered the final period down 12-5.
The 49ers managed to score twice in the final quarter; Farrington scored during a 6-on-5 power play for his second goal of the game, followed by a goal from Brian Schiefer with 2:21 left in the match.
Coach Arroyo was a first-team All-American at California in 1993, and was part of three national championship squads during his collegiate career.
“It’s always difficult to play [California],” Arroyo said of his alma mater. “It’s fun to play them, wish the results would have gone a different way, but we spotted them a lot of goals, and you cant do that with a good team.”
The 49ers will play their final home game of the season on Thursday Nov. 12, against Loyola Marymount at 7 p.m. at the 49er Campus Pool.