By With a comfortable lead and nine players on the scoreboard, Long Beach walked away with a massive win to close its gloomy home opening weekend at Ken Lindgren Aquatics Center.
No. 15 Long Beach ( 8-9, 1-0 Big West) women’s water polo came out strong against George Washington State (7-5) Sunday in its 15-7 victory over the Colonials.
The 49ers’ aggressive defense secured the impressive win over George Washington, as they forced turnovers and steals throughout the match and built on their opportunities.
“It’s nice to be home, it definitely helped us yesterday and today,” head coach Gavin Arroyo said. “The first half we kind of just felt it out a little, but we weren’t really sure about them. Once it got closer we pumped it out more.”
Coming off their first conference win against No. 16 UC Santa Barbara the day before, the 49ers came in pumped up and ready to compete. Long Beach didn’t trail once, securing a lead early on and keeping the momentum consistent with the help of senior Luiza Moraes’ back-to-back goals in the second half as well as one steal.
“I got in fresh off the bench, so I just wanted to go in strong,” Moraes said. “I just wanted to play strong defense and avoid getting turnovers. We were supposed to push the tempo and make it our game and that’s what happened third quarter.”
The 49ers shined on the defensive end, forcing multiple turnovers on the Colonials while keeping them scoreless for the first six minutes of the second half.
“We were turning the ball over too much, not enough of our possessions ended with shots,” George Washington head coach Barry King said. “We were able to play good defense but where we got trouble is turning the ball over and that’s where it got away from us.”
Frustration on George Washington’s side was due in large due junior goalie Eirini Patras, who racked up nine saves and one steal to ensure the 49ers win.
“I think we were way more alert in the second half and changing goalkeepers helped us a little bit,” sophomore Maria Mimidi said. “Eirini is a very good goalkeeper…it’s a very good feeling having her in the pool, it makes us feel more confident and comfortable.”
Long Beach will play its next game at 7 p.m. Thursday against Bucknell University at Ken Lindgren Aquatics Center.
