Men’s
water polo falls to Trojans
By Jack Schneider
On-line Forty-Niner
Falling
behind a few goals short of a win on Saturday’s
game, the Long Beach State men’s water polo
team finished its home game against USC
and lost the 9-5 battle to the Trojans.
That game also marked the beginning of the
Mountain Pacific Sports Federation opener
for both teams.
The 49ers are currently ranked No. 8 and
fell to 4-6 overall and 0-1 in the MPSF,
while USC, ranked No. 6, improved to 7-2
and 1-0 in MPSF play.
In the opening quarter, USC’s Gadi Hadar
held the lead with a score of 2-0. During
the 1:10 mark, USC was up 5-0 when 49er
junior Nathan Allard slammed the ball into
the back of the net, scoring it the first
of his two goals.
As the third quarter approached, the 49ers
bumped up the score a few points with some
impressive plays with senior Kellyn Carlson’s
goal at 1:46.
Sophomore Erik Geoffroy scored to begin
the third quarter for The Beach, and then
Allard scored his second goal at the 2:38
mark. However, by the end of the third quarter,
the score was 6-4 in favor of USC.
The last remaining minutes of the fourth
quarter consisted of USC’s Stephen Lipinski
scoring the final goal of the game at the
1:26 mark.
In addition, on Wednesday, The Beach lost
to UC Irvine, 10-9.
Head Coach Rick Azevedo said that as the
season continues, the 49ers will work on
effectively running their techniques in
the game.
“Right now our execution rate is at 50%,”
Azevedo said. “The game of water polo is
played with a lot of enthusiasm and execution.
Overall the team did a good job and played
a solid game.”
Between now and its next game, the team
is dedicating practice time on improving
technique, ensuring the 49ers end up with
wins.
“Now that we have our pool back, our practices
will be more intense,” Allard said. “Our
next game we play will be a win.”
The LBSU men’s water polo team will be in
action again as The Beach faces Loyola Marymount
University at 4 p.m. on Thursday at the
49er campus pool.
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