By snoadmin
With the sun glaring on the Long Beach State Campus Pool late Friday afternoon, the No. 12 ranked men’s water polo team had one of its biggest wins of the year, defeating visiting No. 6 Loyola Marymount 9-7.
Long Beach native Clint Wilson led the squad with a career-high four goals in the win.
The Beach (9-14, 1-5) was without its leading scorer Jay Gerardi, as he was nursing an injured shoulder.
“Jay is always our best player, but we all know our roles, and we stepped it up today,” Wilson said.
After a high scoring opening quarter, LBSU held a 5-4 lead. Then both teams stepped it up on defense.
The Beach shut down the Lions’ attack, holding LMU scoreless for 12:08, a span that stretched from late in the first quarter to midway through the third quarter.
The Lions (16-12) would tie the match with 3:03 left in the third quarter, after Brian McShane’s fourth goal of the match.
But the Beach scored the next three goals and only gave up one goal in the final quarter, ensuring the two goal win.
“I think we are playing our best water polo right now,” said LBSU head coach Gavin Arroyo. “The goal, though, is to keep working and keep getting better.”
LBSU will finish up the regular season this weekend when it travels to UCLA Friday and then back to The Beach to face UC Irvine Saturday.
