The eighth-ranked Long Beach State men’s water polo team was nearly outscored by one player on Friday night.
UC Irvine senior Griffin Lerman scored a career-high six goals as the 49ers (5-3) fell 12-7 at the hands of the sixth-ranked Anteaters.
Lerman scored five of his goals in the first half to give the Anteaters (6-2) an 8-3 lead at the intermission.
LBSU had the game tied 1-1 early in the first quarter, but Lerman’s first goal gave UCI a lead it would never relinquish.
Freshman Nick Rascon and junior Alexsandr Petrovic led The Beach with two goals apiece. Meanwhile Taylor Clute, Barry Snider and Patrick van der Linde added the remaining LBSU goals.
Goalkeeper Matt Kubeck earned five saves for the ‘Niners, while his counterpart Matt Johnson picked up a season-high 14 saves for the Anteaters.
The 49ers will play former players in their next bit of action in the team’s alumni game at noon on Saturday at the Campus Pool.
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