The No. 7 Long Beach State men’s water polo team took home an eighth-place finish after going 1-3 in its matches in the SoCal tournament.
The 49ers (5-9, 0-5) started the tournament with a win against No. 10 Air Force on Saturday, to snap a three-game losing streak.
After the Falcons took an early lead, LBSU found its stride in the second half, taking the lead in the third quarter and closing out the match with a tight 9-8 win. Senior goalie Pavo Ljepopio recorded 12 saves for the 49ers in their first and only win of the tournament.
LBSU lost against No. 2 Stanford later in the day. The Cardinal dominated the match, winning 11-4. The 49ers ended that match with only nine steals compared to the Stanford’s 18.
On Sunday, after going into the half down 4-3, the 49ers were unable to stop an aggressive No. 6 UC Santa Barbara offense that pulled away for a 12-6 win. Freshman defender Austin Stevenson scored a hat trick for the 49ers.
Going into the final match of the tournament, LBSU was fighting for a seventh-place finish with UCI.
The 49ers were playing catch-up during the match with No. 8 UC Irvine, until two goals from Stevenson and senior utility Dimitrios Lappas forced overtime. UCI’s senior Kyle Trush scored the only goal in the second overtime, to give the Anteaters the win.
LBSU next hosts its first home matches of the season in a double-header against Occidental College and UC San Diego at the Ken Lindgren Aquatics Center on Thursday. The start time against the Tigers is at 3 p.m. and the game against the Tritons starts at 7 p.m.
Top Performer
Freshman defender Austin Stevenson
7 goals
