By snoadmin
Entering the fourth quarter of last Saturday’s game at No. 1-ranked USC, the No. 7-ranked Long Beach State men’s water polo team held firm to a 6-5 lead and was poised to seize a victory from the Trojans at McDonald’s Swim Stadium, a place USC had not lost at in 24 consecutive games.
Three Trojan scores later, however, would diminish those hopes and send LBSU back home empty-handed, but not empty-minded.
I am pretty sure LBSU thought long and hard about the loss, but had to reflect on this loss as a sort of symbolic victory. The team played one of the best teams in the nation close in one of the toughest places to win a collegiate water polo match-up. LBSU may have lost four tough games to Mountain Pacific Sports Federation ranked teams, but the resilience of this squad could never be any greater.
Not only did LBSU play a tight game with USC, but the team threatened to topple No. 6-ranked UC Irvine last Thursday, shutting the Anteaters out in the third quarter 4-0 and leading 6-5 heading into the fourth. But LBSU lost the lead again and suffered its first home loss of the season. Finishing these crucial games should be a stress factor. Ask the New York Mets – they have gone fishing because they allowed teams to finish them off.
But unlike the meltdown in New York, LBSU does not find itself in that type of situation. It is looking to grow from these close losses, and the team has improved quite a bit from the NorCal tournament in early September.
LBSU was outplayed by UC Irvine and USC, losing by three and five points, respectively. The team apparently used those setbacks as sheer momentum in its next three contests, all of them victories. Surprisingly, LBSU has outscored its opponents in every quarter this season, and has five players with double-digit goals this season, a comfortable feeling coming into any game.
Head coach Gavin Arroyo has installed a tough-minded aura inside this program. The team did not have the best of times last season, going 4-10 against MPSF ranked squads last season. LBSU was never in the best position to win in those games, but a new season brought a new look for sophomore center Jeff Greenwood and company.
This team will need to make a statement in the MPSF. Everyone wants to defeat USC nowadays, especially since it also intimidates other schools on the football field. Let us not allow the Trojans to swim wild in water polo. In addition, LBSU has to best its rival, UC Irvine, to keep the Black and Blue Series competitive on land and in the water. The 49ers will get another opportunity to do so on Oct. 28.
Winning means everything, as the saying goes, but losing meant a lot more to LBSU than it could imagine. It has been against some of the best and shown it can last in any pool in the region. LBSU must now show that it can win in those situations.
