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sports:
women's water polo
49ers fall to
0-2 in conference play
By Jeff Dusing
On-line Forty-Niner
The No. 7 ranked
Long Beach State women's water polo team fell short on Saturday
as No. 8 UC Santa Barbara scored four goals straight in the
second half to walk away with an 8-4 victory.
Although the loss
brings the team's record to 0-2 in the Mountain Pacific Sports
Federation, The Beach continues to enjoy a winning year with
a 6-4 overall record.
"We really
did not play like we have been playing," 49er Head Coach
Rick Azevedo said. "We really didn't execute well. We
went two for nine in six-on-five."
A six-on-five occurs
either when an exclusion foul has been committed or during
a substitution. Six players play against five until the excluded
player is accepted back in to the field of play.
Upon the outset
of the game, it was clear the Gauchos (6-6) meant business
as they scored two goals to The Beach's one in the first quarter.
With the score still close, the 49ers' defense kept the difference
to a minimum. The second quarter would only show one goal
from each team.
Moving into the
second half, LBSU would begin to catch a glimpse of victory
as they tied it up at 3-3. This glimpse would not last long
as the next four goals were scored by UCSB.
In the end, the
Gauchos' rally would prove to be too much for The Beach. The
49ers scored only once more to end the game at 8-4.
Scoring for LBSU
were sophomore Ashley Richardson, freshman Angelica Garcia
and seniors Lisa Helm and Jessica Johnson.
"We had opportunities,"
Azevedo said. "It's not like they dominated us. Our defense
worked hard. The team just didn't play very well."
Defense has been
the key for this team and is the basis of its strategy, according
to Azevedo and many of the players. Still he admits that without
a good offense, the team just won't fulfill its true potential.
"This week
we worked very hard at putting in a new offense and putting
in a new six-on-five," Azevedo said. "I think probably
there is some confusion."
So after only one
week of practice with a new offense, it would appear as though
the team was not prepared to implement the new system.
"Our offense
wasn't moving very good," senior Lisa Helm said. "They
didn't out play us."
Another reason
for the disappointing loss was the team's inability to connect
with each other while on the playing field.
"Our heads
weren't together," senior Morgan Meyer said. "We
didn't play as a team. We need to suck it up and play. We
had it before, and we just didn't have it this weekend. We'll
get it back together."
Putting the disappointing
loss behind it, The Beach will be back in the pool all week
as the team practices for another full weekend of play. The
49ers will face UC San Diego this Saturday followed by a game
at UCLA on Sunday.
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