The Long Beach State women’s water polo team trailed by two goals after the first period, but the 49ers rallied before falling to No. 11 UC Irvine, 8-7, on Sunday. The 49ers finished in sixth place in the 16-team Triton Invitational in San Diego.
Lauren Sieprath scored two goals for the third time in the tournament, while Meghan Leonard joined her with a pair of goals against the Anteaters.
Trailing 3-1 after the first period, neither team added any goals in the second period to leave the 49ers behind heading into halftime.
In the second half, however, both teams found their offense, as each squad scored three goals in the third. Then, in the final period, Long Beach State (2-4) added three more goals to UC Irvine’s two, but the 49ers fell just one goal short of beating the team’s third Big West Conference opponent at the Triton Invitational.
The 49ers also had strong goaltending that helped the comeback, as Kristen Stragier finished with 11 saves, while UC Irvine’s Morgan Vickers finished with five.
The home opener is the next game for the 49ers, who host USC at 2 p.m. on Friday.
LBSU 10, No. 13 CSUN 7
Three Long Beach State players scored a pair of goals, and the 49ers scored five goals in a third-period spurt to defeat Cal State Northridge 10-7 in the third game for LBSU at the Triton Invitational.
Long Beach State took an early lead in the first period, jumping out in front 2-1 after the first quarter. The Matadors rallied with three goals in the second period to take a 4-3 lead going into halftime.
LBSU 5, No. 12 UCSB 2
Stragier made nine saves as the Long Beach State women’s water polo team held No. 12 UC Santa Barbara to just a pair of goals in a 5-2 win in the 49ers’ first match at the Triton Invitational in San Diego.
Sieprath scored two goals to lead all scorers in the match.
The 49ers held the Gauchos scoreless in the second half on the way to their first win of the season. Tied 1-1 after the first period, the 49ers scored twice in the second period, the only multi-goal period in the low-scoring contest.
With a 3-2 lead to start the second half, the 49ers shut down the Gauchos the rest of the way while adding two more goals. Julia Garyfallou extended her scoring streak to four games, while Krizia Cerda and Melissa Matheson also added goals for Long Beach State.
No. 7 Michigan 6, LBSU 0
Stragier made 13 saves but the LBSU offense was unable to score in a 6-0 loss to No. 7 Michigan in the second game of the day.
The Beach held close to the Wolverines through the first half, giving up just one goal in each of the first two periods to head to the break trailing 2-0. Three Michigan goals in the third period gave the Wolverines a large lead however, and they were able to maintain their defensive pressure throughout the final period.
Returning to the pool for two more games Sunday at the Triton Invitational, the ‘Niners will play another Big West Conference foe in Cal State Northridge at 9:50 a.m. before playing in the placement round later in the afternoon.
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