The No. 8 Long Beach State men’s water polo team faded in the second half of its game against No. 3 UCLA as the Bruins muscled their way to an 11-5 triumph at Spieker Aquatics Center on Sunday.
The 49ers (7-10, 0-4 Mountain Pacific Sports Federation) were outscored 5-1 in the second half after staying right with the Bruins through two quarters to the tune of a 6-4 deficit.
With the win, UCLA (15-3, 4-1 MPSF) put themselves in prime position to grab the second seed in the MPSF tournament going into next weekend’s match against No. 2 USC.
The first half of LBSU’s loss to the Bruins had a great flow to it, with both teams streaking up and down the pool trading scoring chances.
The 49ers played a solid first quarter, pushing the pace and finding the back of the cage for the game’s opening goal from junior Taylor Clute. UCLA came back with two goals on back-to-back possessions, before junior Shane Luth tied it up at 2 in the last minute of the quarter on the power play.
The Bruins countered with strength in the second quarter, gaining inside position to draw four exclusion penalties on the 49ers.
UCLA’s second power play goal of the quarter put the Bruins on top 5-3. Freshman Nick Rascon answered back with a power play goal of his own to cut the lead in half. Sophomore Josh Samuels scored right before halftime to put UCLA back up by two.
“That’s a good question,” said Arroyo when asked why his team frequently comes out on the wrong side of the exclusion totals. “I wish I knew.”
The Beach was put away in the third quarter as UCLA notched four more goals in the frame. Bruins’ sophomore Griffin White completed his hat trick with two goals in the period.
Not to be outdone, Clute scored his third goal of the game with 3:24 left in the quarter. Clute’s goal was 49ers’ only tally of the second half, as UCLA’s size gave the ‘Niners a lot of trouble trying to get shots on goal.
The two teams combined to score just once in the fourth quarter, with that goal belonging to senior Ben Hohl. Incidentally, his hat-trick goal tied him for eighth on UCLA’s all-time scoring list to put him alongside Bruins head coach Adam Wright with 138 goals in his collegiate career.
The 49ers continue their three game road trip Saturday when they take on the Stanford at Avery Aquatic Center. The action is set to begin at noon.
The Beach played a close match with the Cardinal earlier this year, losing 9-8 at the SoCal Tournament. After its match with Stanford, LBSU will travel to No. 1 California to wrap up its final road trip of the season.
“We have to play smart from the beginning,” said Rascon of what his team has to do to reverse their fortunes against the Cardinal (10-5, 3-1 MPSF) next weekend.
“Last time we gave them (Stanford) some cheap goals and we just have to eliminate those mistakes.”
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