The 49er men’s water polo team controlled the tempo throughout the first half, resulting in an 8-6 upset of No. 6 Loyola Marymount Thursday night at the 49er Campus Pool.
The Beach (9-11, 1-6 Mountain Pacific Sports Federation) came out frothing on senior night, taking a commanding 3-0 first quarter lead that it would never relinquish.
LBSU head coach Gavin Arroyo credited his team’s work ethic for allowing the 49ers to pull out the nonconference win.
“I think it’s about time they got paid off for their efforts,” Arroyo said. “It was bound to happen. We were so close sometimes, it was bound to click and it really clicked tonight.”
LBSU dominated through the third quarter, and took a 7-1 lead on a 5-meter penalty shot converted by Alexsandr Petrovic with 5:11 remaining.
LMU’s offense came alive in the later portion of the match, scoring five goals in the third and fourth quarters, the ‘Niners were able to survive the late onslaught due in part to goalie Derek Wiebe-Bailey, who recorded a match-high 15 saves.
Petrovic added his second goal of the match in the fourth quarter on an exclusion penalty, capping off the scoring for The Beach.
The 49er energy in the first half was undeniable.
“We needed to come out with a lot of momentum from this game, because our next game coming up on Saturday is a big one for us,” senior Jeff Greenwood said. “We’ve actually been having a lot of fun with our practices, just scrimmaging a lot and coming out with a lot of hunger.”
The 49er victory avenges the team’s 9-5 loss at LMU earlier in the year. Coach Arroyo conveyed the importance of the win on senior night.
“It couldn’t have been better for them,” he said. “It’s their night, they all stepped up. And I’m very proud of them, not only as water polo players, but as people.”
The ‘Niners went 4-3 this season at the Campus Pool. Senior Kevin Mundia said he was happy with the team’s performance.
“I think we all wanted to end it on a good note, you know, end our home season on a good note … I think everybody was on the same page tonight,” Mundia said.
The 49ers will travel to face No. 15 Pacific Saturday at noon, where a victory will earn The Beach a spot in the MPSF Tournament.