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sports
Water polo nets
first win
By Ben Dimapindan
On-line Forty-Niner
The Long Beach
State men's water polo team earned its first victory of the
season Friday at the 49er Campus Pool, but the road to the
13-6 conference victory over Pacific was certainly a trial
by fire.
After the sixth-ranked 49ers built an 8-2 lead late in the
second quarter, Pacific, ranked 10th, resorted to playing
an extremely physical game to try to match up against LBSU's
overwhelming speed.
However, The Beach maintained its composure in the second
half and held on for the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation
victory.
"The game just got out of control, but I'm very proud
of the guys to hold on [to the lead] and finish the game the
way they did," Head Coach Ricardo Azevedo said. "Our
whole game plan was to play great defense and counter. We
did that and jumped ahead to a big lead.
"A win is a win. It's not a question of how many goals
you score, it's about just going out there and playing."
In the first quarter, the LBSU offense set the tempo of the
game -- using its team quickness, the 49ers displayed accurate
and patient ball movement to set up close-range shots.
LBSU sophomore two-meter man Nathan Allard scored both of
his goals in the first quarter, helping stake The Beach to
a 4-1 advantage.
"We were trying to come out and put it to them real quick,
making a statement to them and other teams," Allard said.
"We started off sluggish in the first two games [against
USC and UCLA], but we're coming around. We're looking to get
some recognition around the [MPSF]."
The 49ers pulled away late in the second quarter when senior
driver Justin Jewell, who scored two goals in the game, pinpointed
a shot into the corner of the goal that helped boost the 49er
lead to 8-2.
After Jewell's goal, the Tigers adhered to a much more physical
game plan, but LBSU still overmatched them.
Despite two goals in the second half by Pacific sophomore
driver Brady Norvall -- Norvall led all scorers with three
goals -- the Tigers could not manage to string together an
offensive run in the second half.
LBSU senior driver Scott Miller and junior defenseman Aaron
Holloway each hammered in a goal in the third quarter, while
Jewell and senior driver Brett Adams sealed the 13-6 victory
with fourth-quarter goals.
With senior goalie Brett Adolph recording eight saves and
10 different LBSU players contributing goals, the 49ers displayed
what this team is capable of when it's running at full throttle.
"We have so many weapons," Allard said. "We
just have to work on the little things, but we have so many
weapons that, when we get things flowing, we'll score a whole
lot of goals."
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