Missed penalty shot opportunities came in bunches for the 49er women’s water polo team as it fell to No. 16 Pacific, 6-5, on Sunday at the Campus Pool.
The 49ers (7-18, 0-4 Big West Conference) were awarded three 5-meter penalty shots for the game, but failed to score on each one.
“We were our worst enemy,” Long Beach State head coach Gavin Arroyo said.
A questionable non-call in the closing seconds of the game also did not do the 49ers any favors.
LBSU driver Lauren Sieprath stole the ball and drove to the goal before drawing contact from a Pacific defender inside the 5-meter line. No foul was called to the crowd’s surprise, as the Tigers regained possession and held on to the ball to secure the win.
“The refereeing was fine,” Arroyo said. “They were nothing to blame anything on. Nothing to blame but ourselves.”
Bridget Geck provided the game-winning goal for Pacific (20-9, 2-1 Big West) after scoring on a penalty shot, allowing her to tie Sieprath for game-high honors with two goals.
The third period featured goals from LBSU’s Katie Rogers and Pacific’s Jasmine Myles, who scored to put the Tigers up, 5-4, heading into the final period. As frustrating as it was for LBSU to score, Pacific had a difficult time getting the ball past Beach goalie Kristen Stragier who made five of her 11 saves in the third period.
Tiger juniors Katherine Biehle and Dara Tawarahara provided a goal each in the second period as the ‘Niners did not have an answer for Pacific’s defense in the second period and beyond.
Pacific had a chance to increase its lead after a foul inside 5 meters resulted in a penalty shot, but Stragier denied the goal. Krizia Cerda was awarded a penalty shot, but failed to score against Pacific goalie Kailee Bucknum, who finished with 13 saves.
The Tigers opened the game with a goal by Geck before LBSU 2-meter Miranda Furuto answered just seconds later.
Sieprath scored twice in the first period as the ‘Niners took a 3-2 lead into the second period. Once again, a missed penalty shot from Cerda could have added one more to the total.
With two losses over the weekend and six straight overall, the 49ers might need a final tune up before the Big West tournament begins in two weeks.
“The tournament is close, but no cigar,” Arroyo said. “We have two weeks to make our needed adjustments.”
The 49ers travel to face No. 13 UC Irvine on Thursday at 7 p.m. in their final Big West match before they host No. 20 Cal State Bakersfield on Saturday at noon in the regular season finale.