The Long Beach State men’s water polo team lost a close match against UCLA, 13-10, in the final home game of the season Thursday at the 49er Aquatics Center.
The 49ers (15-9, 1-6 Mountain Pacific Sports Federation) held a 7-5 advantage over the Bruins with 5:21 remaining in the third quarter over the No. 3 ranked team in the MPSF.
From there, the Bruins (18-3, 4-1 MPSF) took over by hitting five straight goals from the middle of the third quarter until 4:39 to go in the final period.
The 49ers and Bruins exchanged goals over the last four minutes with the final score ending at 13-10.
Senior Aleksandar Petrovic recorded a hat trick in his final home game of his career, bringing his career total to 138.
UCLA goalkeeper Matt Rapacz stopped 12 shots by Long Beach in the contest.
The first quarter ended in a 3-3 tie with both teams going back and forth in the opening period.
The game flow stayed the same in the second period, as both teams scored two goals. Entering halftime, the scored was tied at 5-5.
Apart from Petrovic, the LBSU attack was highlighted by Dan Matulis who scored four goals, with Milos Vrzic, Nathan McConnell, and Devin Mefford scoring the other three goals for the 49ers.
LBSU will hit the road to play a non-conference game against Loyola Marymount on Saturday at noon in Los Angeles.
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