The No. 8 Long Beach State men’s water polo team was defeated, 11-6, by No. 4 Stanford Saturday at the Avery Aquatic Center as the Cardinal completed the season sweep of the 49ers.
The Beach (7-11, 0-5 Mountain Pacific Sports Federation) is still looking for its first win in MPSF play with only three conference games remaining.
LBSU is still holding onto a couple of slim scenarios to make the MPSF Tournament. The 49ers would have to win two of their final three games in conference to potentially oust No. 10 Pepperdine from the postseason picture. The second scenario would require No. 7 Pacific to lose its games against No. 6 UC Santa Barbara and No. 1 California to set up a season finale showdown for a spot in the conference tournament.
Stanford (11-5, 4-1 MPSF), meanwhile, has already clinched a spot in the tournament.
Just like the opening game of the road trip against No. 3 UCLA, the 49ers got on the board quickly. Junior Alexsandr Petrovic scored the game’s opening goal to put The Beach on top with a five-meter penalty shot. It did not take long for Stanford to answer back, as the Cardinal responded with back-to-back goals to take their first lead of the game.
LBSU junior Shane Luth tied the game at 2, before Stanford tacked on two more goals before the end of the first quarter to take a 4-2 lead.
A recurring issue got the better of the 49ers in the second quarter. The Beach has struggled with their discipline all year, making them one of the most penalized teams in collegiate water polo.
Luth’s early exit was another example of the team’s penalty problems. Already tagged with an early exclusion, Luth was whistled for a double-exclusion when he dunked a Cardinal player, and dunked the same player again right after the initial call had been made against him. After his third exclusionary foul of the game, Luth was promptly ejected and the 49ers played the remainder of the game without one of their top defenders.
The Beach tried to rally from a 5-2 deficit early in the second quarter. Freshman Nick Rascon notched two goals in the quarter, but the 49ers were unable to close the gap as Stanford scored three goals in the second frame to take a 7-4 lead into halftime.
LBSU was unable to make a run in the second half, which included ascoreless third quarter. Meanwhile, Stanford received goals from Jacob Smith and Jeffrey Schwimer to extend its lead to 9-4.
The two teams traded a pair of goals in the fourth quarter. Rascon completed his hat trick, and sophomore Barry Snyder also scored for The Beach. Stanford was able to hold on for the victory behind an 11-save performance from goalkeeper Brian Pingree. Matthew Kubeck had 10 saves for the 49ers in the contest.
LBSU will play its final road game of the season tomorrow when they face the Cal Golden Bears (17-2, 5-0 MPSF) at the Spieker Aquatics Complex. Game time is scheduled for noon.
Disclaimer: The Daily 49er is not responsible for Postings made on www.daily49er.wpengine.com. Persons commenting are solely responsible for Postings made on this website. Persons commenting agree to the Terms of Use of the website. If Postings do not abide by the Rules of Conduct or Posting Regulations as listed in the Postings Policy, the Daily 49er has all rights to delete Postings as it deems necessary. The Daily 49er strongly advises individuals to not abuse their First Amendment rights, and to avoid language suggestive of hate speech. This site also encourages users to make Postings relevant to the article or other Postings.