After keeping the match close throughout the first half, the No. 7-ranked Long Beach State men’s water polo team was overpowered in the second as the No. 4 Stanford Cardinal pulled away for a lopsided 11-3 victory Saturday at the 49er Aquatics Center.
Despite a highly-contested match through the third quarter, the 49ers (14-8, 1-5 Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Conference) dropped its second consecutive game to a higher-ranked conference opponent. The ‘Niners scored the first goal of the second half to bring them to within one at 4-3 before surrendering seven unanswered to the Cardinal (15-4, 4-2 MPSF).
LBSU head coach Gavin Arroyo said he was not pleased with the team’s mental state, especially in the second half.
“We mentally broke down,” he said. “You’ve got to bring teams like Stanford down; they are beatable. We beat them here four years ago.”
Arroyo added: “It is a mental situation. The ability is there, the technique is there, the skills are there, but it is a mental game so that is what we will keep working on going into these next few weeks.”
Less than a minute into the third quarter, LBSU freshman Milos Vrzic scored on a power play, which proved to be the last of the match for The Beach.
Stanford scored at least two goals in every quarter, including a match-high four in the final frame. The Cardinal was led by freshman utility player Alex Bowen, who delivered a hat trick, scoring two goals in the third quarter and another in the fourth.
Apart from Bowen, the Cardinal used a balanced scoring attack, receiving two goals apiece from senior driver Jacob Smith, sophomore Forrest Watkins and senior utility player Peter Sefton.
The Beach scored its first two goals in the second quarter. The first was netted early in the frame by freshman Conner Reilly, while the second came nearly five minutes later by sophomore Dan Matulis on a power play.
Cardinal goalkeeper Brian Pingree held down the net with eight saves. Junior Matthew Kubeck had five saves for the ‘Niners.
The Beach will return to action Sunday as it hosts the Air Force Academy (7-15) at noon.
“The problem is you are disappointed today and you have to come back from being disappointed and that is a challenge,” Arroyo said. “It is not going to be an easy game tomorrow.”
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