By snoadmin
IRVINE — The Long Beach State men’s water polo team dominated its season opener Saturday in a 22-8 victory over the Whittier College Poets at the UC Irvine Invitational.
The Beach demonstrated its wealth of depth on offense as 10 different players scored. Barry Snyder led all scorers with five goals, while Taylor Clute tickled the twine four times. Matt Farrington and Nick Rascon each recorded hat tricks in the win.
“We’re excited to start the season and see our training pay off,” head coach Gavin Arroyo said.
The two teams played to an early 1-1 tie before Clute netted his second goal of the first quarter at the 4:13 mark to put the 49ers on top for good. Rascon tallied his first collegiate goal off the rebound from his penalty shot with 3:32 left in the quarter to put LBSU up 3-1. Farrington, Alexsandr Petrovic and Carter Taylor added goals and the 49ers led 6-2 after the first period.
The Beach distanced itself from the Poets in the second quarter. The ‘Niners scored four straight goals to open the frame as part of a 6-0 run. Matthew Kubeck came up with an impressive save on a penalty shot by Whittier’s Brandon Babot, extending his left hand to deflect it wide of the goal. The 49ers closed the half on another 4-0 run and led 14-3 at the half.
LBSU outscored Whittier, 7-3, in the third quarter. Clute and Snyder notched a pair of back-to-back goals in the period.
The 49ers took a 21-6 lead into the final quarter and cruised the rest of the way.
LBSU also scrimmaged against the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation’s third-ranked Stanford Cardinal in an afternoon affair. Only three periods were played in the game.
The Beach kicked off the opening period trying to take a run-and-gun approach to Stanford. The Cardinal proved to be more than up to the challenge, forcing turnovers and capitalizing on the ensuing possessions.
Stanford remained in control in the second period. The 49ers were held scoreless in the middle frame and had just one goal to show for their efforts through two periods.
By the final quarter, LBSU was holding its own with Stanford. A slower pace proved advantageous for the 49ers, who scored three unanswered goals in the final frame. The more deliberate approach on offense translated into a more productive defense, as the 49ers were able to get into their defensive sets and limit the damage.
Arroyo was conscious of the benefits that came out of the scrimmage.
“Good teams are going to expose your weaknesses,” he said regarding his team’s costly turnovers. “It’s good information for us, it’s good to have it now.”
With five seniors lost from last year, Arroyo was on a mission to find a strong recruiting class. The crown jewel of his offseason additions was Rascon out of El Toro High School.
Rascon, who played in the Pan American games for the U.S. junior national team, was adamant that his international level experience has been essential to his quick adjustment to the college game.
“It helped prepare me for the collegiate game because it is the same physicality and high level of play. Everyone is fast, tall, and strong,” Rascon said.
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