By Malik Reeves
This week LBSU’s men’s water polo, women’s soccer and cross country teams all played in big games this past week. Here is what happened:
Cross Country
LBSU’s cross country teams competed in the Big West Championship, held in Davis, California this past Friday, Oct. 29.
Both men’s and women’s had their best finishes in several years, with the men finishing in fifth place and the women in sixth.
Michael Phillips was the top runner for his team with a personal best of 24:12.7, the fastest time by a Long Beach State cross country runner since 2011.
On the women’s team, Ryley Flick crossed the finish line with a time of 21:04.6, a few seconds from her personal best.
The men scored a total of 115 points for their performance, the team’s best since 2015. The women’s team scored a total of 157 points, their best outing since 2017.
The cross country teams will be back in action on Friday, Nov. 12 for the NCAA West Regionals, hosted at the Hagging Oaks Golf Complex in Sacramento.
Men’s Water Polo
LBSU’s men’s water polo was on the road against the University of Pacific on Thursday, Oct. 28, as they faced off in a rematch from an earlier season match-up.
LBSU defeated the No. 6 ranked Tigers 15-13 in overtime to improve their overall record to 17-5, and 3-0 in conference play.
Alika Nanone had a career-high four goals in the game to lead LBSU, who are currently ranked No. 5 in the nation amongst NCAA Division 1 teams.
LBSU was set to face the University of California Berkeley, the No. 2 ranked team in the nation, but the game was canceled due to COVID-19 concerns in their program.
They will be back in action on Saturday, Nov. 6 against Pepperdine at the Ken Lindgren Aquatics Center.
Women’s Soccer
LBSU’s women’s soccer season came to an end after losing their last two games on Thursday, Oct. 28, and Sunday, Oct. 31.
On Thursday they played against Cal Poly at home for a shot at the regular-season Big West conference title. LBSU would go on to lose the game 1-0.
In another game at home, the black and gold welcomed UC Santa Barbara to close out regular season play.
Unlike the game against Cal Poly, the Beach was able to score a goal after a free-kick from defender Maddy Perez found defender Kaitlin Fregulia inside the box in the 17th minute of the game.
They were able to keep the lead until UCSB scored in the 70th minute to tie the game up and then a dagger goal with a minute left on the clock to give the Gauchos the victory.
As a result, LBSU’s women’s soccer team was eliminated from playoff contention, bringing their season to an end.
