By Despite a close first three quarters of play, the Long Beach State men’s water polo team was able to earn an 11-7 win over No. 11 Princeton in its first home game of the season Friday night.
The 49ers (10-3) started off in a hole, as an outside shot from Princeton rocketed past goalkeeper Pavo Ljepopio two minutes into the game and gave the Tigers a 1-0 advantage.
“I think we were a little tight and played pretty cautious,” head coach Gavin Arroyo said.
The outside shooting of Princeton boded well against the 49ers’ zone defense early on, as accurate shots were able to fuel the Tigers’ momentum.
“They were able to hit and if they miss those then it works,” Arroyo said. “I think we were a little late to move a couple of times.”
LBSU was able to get even with Princeton at the 3:29 mark of the first quarter after junior Milos Vrzic’s cross pass set up sophomore Dimitrios Lappas for an easy put-away goal.
With the score tied, Princeton’s Drew Hoffenberg earned a kick out and received a right-back pass for one of his two goals.
With the score 2-1 in favor of Princeton, LBSU went to work in the final minutes of the first quarter. They were able to go into the second quarter with a 3-2 edge by way of a 5-meter penalty shot converted by sophomore Zacchary Kappos and a self-manufactured 7-meter shot from sophomore Conner Reilly.
In the second quarter, LBSU was able to shut out Princeton with two key saves from Ljepopio and solid help-defense.
In the final minutes of the first half, junior Devin Mefford and sophomore Nolan McConnell were able to fire up the crowd with an exciting finish on a counter attack.
After sealing off position at two meters, Mefford was fed the ball from McConnell. Mefford then produced a crowd-pleasing cross-cage backhand shot.
“I tried to go for the inside turn and didn’t get it, so I went for the backhand,” Mefford said.
Mefford’s shot gave LBSU a 4-2 lead going into halftime and a much-needed boost of momentum.
“It was textbook of what we usually do besides the backhand,” Mefford said. “My coach would usually yell at me if I did that in practice.”
Even with a strong end to the second half, the spurt wasn’t enough to stop Princeton from battling back early in an action-packed third quarter. The Tigers jumped out with two quick goals and had the game knotted at four with three minutes left in the quarter.
Mefford was then able to utilize another backhand shot that soared over the Princeton goalkeeper’s head and gave LBSU a 5-4 lead. This ignited a run that saw senior Carter Taylor earning back-to-back goals.
“It felt good to get the crowd riled up, and then Carter [Taylor] started surging,” Mefford said.
The 49ers’ defense started to come alive as well. Princeton’s outside shots were contested, which led to turnovers. The 49ers ultimately reached an 8-4 advantage after a Vrzic six-on-five goal with 54 seconds left.
Then, Princeton was able to convert at the buzzer on a six-on-five series of its own, narrowing the deficit 5-8. The goal by the Tigers put a damper on an otherwise stellar defensive performance by the ‘Niners in the final three minutes of the third quarter.
The fourth quarter saw Princeton getting the first goal of the period making it 8-6 in favor of the ‘Niners.
LBSU then utilized quick and precise ball movement on the perimeter that fed to a McConnell outside shot and goal, lifting the 49ers to a 9-6 advantage.
“With my teammates setting me up really well, it makes it easy,” McConnell said.
LBSU then showed ferocity on defense with Lappas earning back-to-back blocked shots down the stretch that helped solidify an 11-7 win for the ‘Niners.
The 49ers’ win over the previously undefeated Tigers will no doubt be a turn in the right direction for the team as they head to Whittier for the Claremont Convergence tournament. They will start the tournament with a game against Chapman on Friday at 3 p.m.
