Narrow escape; Lindgren nears milestone

Not a bad escape that group of Cal State Long Beach water polo players pulled off Saturday at UC San Diego.

OK, David Copperfield might not have been on hand, so it wasn't that magical. But Coach Ken Lindgren wasn't complaining after watching the 49ers rally from a 5-3 third-quarter deficit to defeat the Tritons, 7-6, at UCSD's Canyonview Pool.

The 49ers' victory spoiled the celebration the Tritons' fans were anticipating.

"I think we silenced them," Lindgren said. "They had a big crowd and they were hyped up. To come from behind like that made it a good win. A good win. It was kind of nice."

Sophomore Jefferson Hall pulled the 49ers into a 5-5 tie by scoring two goals in the final minutes of the third quarter.

With the teams deadlocked at six late in the fourth quarter, sophomore Greg Finley scored a goal with just over a minute remaining to give the 49ers (3-3) the victory.

The countdown begins.

Lindgren is now four wins shy of 300 in his CSULB career. Lindgren, in his 21st season, is 296-273-3 overall.

CSULB athletic department officials recently realized that Lindgren was close to the milestone and said a ceremony may take place in his honor.

Lindgren remains low-key over the whole affair.

"It just means that I'm getting older,'' said Lindgren, 57.

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Kip Parsons, who had shoulder injury last year and redshirted, is back. He joined the team the first week of September after playing at the World University Games in Japan.

"He's slowly coming around," Lindgren said. "He's only going to get better as the season goes on.

"You know, they had to do some pretty heavy-duty surgery on his shoulder. Fortunately it worked out, even though he doesn't have the same amount of flexibility."

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The 49ers were ranked seventh in last week's national ranking . Their next match is Friday at California .

The 49ers don't play their first match at Belmont Plaza Pool until Oct. 7 against UCLA. Lindgren, who endured an adversity filled season last year, feels rejuvinated with this squad. "You go out to practice and you don't mind being there," Lindgren said. "This year should be an exciting challenge."