Playing in its first home game since a tough 8-6 loss to UCLA Sept. 17, the Long Beach State men’s water polo team swept its matches against Occidental, Long Beach City College and Golden West College Saturday at Lindgren Aquatics Center.
After the 49ers (11-3) lost to Stanford Sept. 25, LBSU bounced back with big wins against the Occidental College Tigers and Long Beach City College. LBSU won Occidental 15-1 and beat LBCC 17-2.
Against the Tigers, LBSU had ten different players find the back of the net, five of whom scored on multiple occasions.
By the end of the first period, LBSU was up 5-0.
Meanwhile, Occidental was having a hard time catching up to LBSU sophomore attackers Luke Ritter and Austin Stewart, who both scored in the first period.
During the second period, LBSU did not back down and kept on going on the offensive. With just 20 seconds left, the 49ers scored their sixth goal of the match.
At halftime, LBSU led Occidental 9-0. When the third period started, Occidental scored its first goal. LBSU scored three more times in the fourth period.
“Versus [Occidental] we did have a couple of things [we could fix],” sophomore center Zach Minott said. “It was a game where we could work on things that we needed to work on, but overall we did what we had to do.”
In its second match of the day, LBSU faced LBCC (6-1).
Against the Vikings, the 49ers flexed its scoring prowess, leading 13-1 heading into the final period.
In the fourth quarter, LBCC tried to cut the lead but weren’t able to as the 49ers scored four goals to take a 17-2 lead.
“The key factors [of the two wins] were how we played together as a team and how we were always setting each other up [with] good team defense,” sophomore defender Austin Stevenson said. “Overall, it was the effort of the team.”
While playing against less competitive colleges and junior colleges LBSU will look to better itself as a team and grow through practice.
Head coach Gavin Arroyo mentioned that these games will help LBSU figure out weaknesses that the team needs to work on. It will also help them get potential recruits on campus by looking at how the players from junior colleges play.
“It’s a win-win situation,” Arroyo said.
LBSU finished the day against Golden West in a 13-6 win. After their homestand, the 49ers will hit the road to take on UC Berkeley Thursday.