By The Long Beach State men’s water polo team has played all 14 of its games this season on the road.
Starting on Saturday at 7 p.m., the 49ers will play their first home game of the season and look to rebound against Golden Coast Conference rival No. 5 Pacific after losing to them twice already this season.
Head coach Gavin Arroyo accepted the fact that LBSU (9-5) has struggled with Pacific, but he still feels confident about his team heading into the matchup.
“We’re gonna play our game, everything stays the same for us. We just have to play our game better,” Arroyo said. “It’s gonna be good to have them at home, we’re hoping for some home court advantage. They’re a good team, we’re a great team and we’re going to have to play well to beat them.”
Pacific is led by a two-headed goal scoring duo in sophomores Luke Pavillard and Engin Ege Colak. Both have scored 39 goals on the season and will be key players the 49ers look to stop.
“This past weekend we just couldn’t stop them defensively. Our biggest key point [for Saturday] would be our defense,” senior center Duncan Lynde said.
The Long Beach State offense is primed to attack Pacific with force. Junior attacker Austin Stewart and sophomore attacker Nemanja Bakic have scored 25 and 21 goals respectively.
“On offense we’ll get what we need, their goalie isn’t the best and we have good shooters,” Lynde said. “Their style of play is all about trying to trick you or out-think you. If we’re just one step ahead and our foot is on the pedal the whole time, I think we got ‘em.”
