The No. 8 Long Beach State men’s water polo team suffered a close defeat at the hands of No. 6 UC Santa Barbara as the 49ers lost 11-10 in sudden death overtime Saturday.
The Beach (7-8, 0-2 MPSF) was unable to end its skid within the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation as it blew a three-goal lead in the final quarter of regulation at UCSB Campus Pool.
LBSU received two-goal performances from senior Patrick van der Linde, sophomore Carter Taylor, and freshman Dan Matulis. Four other 49ers, including juniors Jordan Koeppen and Alexsandr Petrovic, scored goals in the loss.
Not on the scoring sheet for the 49ers was freshman Nick Rascon, who was held scoreless in a game for the first time in his collegiate career.
Senior Milos Golic, the Gauchos’ all-time leading goal scorer, singlehandedly led his team to victory by tying a career-high with seven goals in the contest. Golic accounted for two of the Gauchos’ fourth quarter goals and scored the game winner 36 seconds into the third overtime.
The 49ers trailed the Gauchos (10-5, 1-1 MPSF) in the early going as UCSB took a 3-2 lead after one period of play.
The one-goal deficit wouldn’t last long, however, as LBSU stormed back with a four goal second quarter to take a 6-4 lead into halftime.
Coming out the break, the Gauchos tied the game at 6 with quick goals from Golic and Brian Shoemaker. The Beach then retook the lead with a goal at the 2:23 mark of the third period.
The 49ers struck on the first possession of the fourth quarter, but the goal was quickly answered by UCSB’s Evan Dellinger to keep the game close at 8-7. LBSU followed up Dellinger’s goal with goals from Taylor and Matulis to extend their lead to 10-7.
The Gauchos, however, got back in the game with three unanswered goals to tie the game at 10. The 49ers were denied on their final three-man advantages of regulation after taking their three-goal fourth quarter lead.
After two scoreless overtime periods, UCSB won the sprint to open the third overtime.
On the first possession of the sudden death period, the Gauchos drew an exclusionary penalty on the 49ers. The Gauchos were able to capitalize on the power play with a game-winning goal from Golic.
LBSU goalkeeper Matt Kubeck had a game-high 12 saves for the 49ers. Fraser Bunn recorded four saves for UCSB in the first half, and Myles Christian had eight saves for the Gauchos after spelling Bunn in the second half.
The 49ers return home to face No. 10 Pepperdine this Friday. The action begins at 7 p.m. at the Campus Pool.
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