Fresh off its first conference win and ascending to its highest ranking of the season, the No. 7-ranked Long Beach State men’s water polo team looked to continue their winning ways in the annual “Black and Blue” rivalry game.
The Beach failed to sustain its momentum, however, as No. 6 UC Irvine thwarted the 49ers’ comeback bid Thursday in the final minutes of a 13-12 loss at the Anteater Pool.
Senior Aleksandar Petrovic paced the 49ers (14-7, 1-4 Mountain Pacific Sports Federation) with six goals in the contest. Sophomore Nick Rascon had a hat-trick, while Dan Matulis added two goals.
Trent Baxter led the Anteaters (14-9, 2-4 MPSF) in scoring, matching Petrovic’s output for the game.
The match was tied at halftime, but UCI jumped out to a three-goal lead late in the third quarter. Goals from Nick Rascon and Devin Mefford cut the deficit to one.
An Anteater power-play goal with 4:23 remaining extended the UCI lead to two. Petrovic scored on the next possession to bring the 49ers to within striking distance, but The Beach would not find the net again.
LBSU dropped into eighth place in the MPSF standings, percentage points ahead of No. 8 Pacific for the final spot in the conference tournament.
The 49ers will host No. 4 Stanford for a noon MPSF showdown Friday at the 49er Aquatics Center.
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