By The No. 15 Long Beach State women’s water polo team won its seventh straight game Sunday, beating No. 16 Wagner 13-7 at the Ken Lindgren Aquatics Center.
“This was our second home game and we’re still trying to figure out who we are at home,” head coach Gavin Arroyo said. “I think the girls stopped worrying so much.”
Freshman utility Sarah Barker led the way for Long Beach with five goals, while freshman attack Orsi Hertzka had three goals.
The game was tight to start out, as both teams kept trading goals. In the final seconds of the first quarter, Hertzka made a goal, giving the 49ers a 3-2 lead.
The second quarter saw Wagner make a push, as sophomore attack Malia Josephson gave the Seahawks a 4-3 lead at the 4:30 mark of the second quarter. But the 49ers had an answer, as Barker scored on a six on five goal, and went into halftime tied at 4-4.
The 49ers came out hot in the third quarter, scoring six goals while keeping the Seahawks off the scoreboard.
The Seahawks didn’t get their first goal of the second half until the 5:34 mark of the fourth quarter, when Josephson scored off of a rare six on four goal. By the time she scored, Long Beach led 13-5 and cruised to its seventh straight win.
“I think it was just believing in ourselves because we’re all really talented players and I think sometimes we just get caught up. We’re going to keep this upward trend going throughout the rest of the season,” Barker said.
In addition to Barker and Hertzka’s scoring output, freshman defender Anabel Harman and junior utility Maria Elini Mimidi each had two goals while freshman attacker Tori Morrissey added one goal. Junior goalie Eirini Patras made nine saves for the 49ers.
Joesephson led the Seahawks with three goals while senior attack Erica Hardy scored twice. Freshman attack Sofia Diaz Alvarez and junior attack Jacqui Sjogren each scored once for the Seahawks, who got four saves from sophomore goalie Katerine Campbell.
Long Beach returns to the pool deck 7 p.m. Thursday as it hosts No. 14 Princeton.
