The ninth-ranked Long Beach State men’s water polo team became the latest victim of No. 1 Southern California on Friday, as it lost 13-7 to the Trojans in its Mountain Pacific Sports Federation opener.
The Trojans (17-0, 3-0 MSPF) won the game with strong defense, as they blocked numerous 49er goal attempts throughout the game.Thanks in part to USC goalkeeper James Clark’s nine saves, LBSU (18-4, 0-1 MSPF) only made seven of its 35 goal attempts.
USC was responsible for all of the early scoring, as it held a 5- 0 lead until the second quarter. The 49ers finally got on the board later in the quarter when Dimitrios Lappas found the back of the net. Lappas’ score was immediately answered back with a returning goal from USC’s Kostas Genidounias though, and the ‘Niners never seemed to be able to make up the early deficit. The first half ended with USC ahead by four, and LBSU never closed the game to fewer than three goals.
The ‘Niners were led by Devin Mefford, Dan Matulis and Milos Vrzic, each of whom scored a pair of goals. One of the many obstacles LBSU failed to overcome was an uneven playing field, as several 49ers found themselves in foul trouble. By the end of the game, Nolan McConnell, Nick Rascon and Spencer White had all reached their three-foul maximum.
The 49er men will now travel to northern California for weekend games at Stanford and California. Their next home game will be Nov. 4 against Pacific.