Home Finale On Saturday vs. UCSB
November 16, 2005
PDF Version of this Release
| LONG BEACH STATE MEN'S WATER POLO | | Overall Record: 16-14 | | MPSF Record: 0-6 | | Latest National Ranking: No. 9 | This Week's Action:
Nov. 19 vs. UCSB, 12 pm
Nov. 20 at Pepperdine, 1 pm |
The Record: Long Beach State enters its final home game of the season on Saturday at 16-14 overall and 0-6 in the MPSF. The 49ers and Gauchos are tied for eighth place in the MPSF at 0-6. UCSB is 13-15 overall and 0-6 in the MPSF, while Pepperdine is 15-9 overall and 1-5 in league play. Only the top eight teams qualify for the MPSF Tournament, so the 49ers need to win one of its final two league matches to qualify.
The Coach: Rick Azevedo is 106-92 (.535) in his seventh year as the head coach at Long Beach State. He picked up win No. 100 on September 24 in an 11-3 win over Air Force.
The Series: The 49ers lead in their series with UCSB by a 42-35 count. The 49ers have won the last five meetings with the Gauchos, including two wins last year. The 49ers won 12-11 at UCSB in the regular season and then won 14-12 in overtime in the MPSF Tournament. Pepperdine leads its series with the 49ers by a 54-26 count. The Waves defeated the 49ers 11-8 on Oct. 16 at the NorCal Tournament. Long Beach was 2-1 vs. the Waves last year, including a 9-8 win in the fifth place game at the MPSF Tournament.
So Close: Of the 14 losses this season, seven have been by one goal and three by two goals. On the opposite end, the 49ers have won just one game by one goal (11-10 over Navy) and three times by two goals. The Beach is 1-7 in games decided by one goal.
Brett McCleave: Senior Brett McCleave (Lake Forest) continues to pace the 49er offense this season. McCleave has tallied 67 goals this year, an average of 2.33 goals per game. He ranks third in the MPSF at 2.23 goals per game and his 67 total goals leads all players. McCleave has scored in 28 of the 30 games this year and has hit double digits in goals 20 times. McCleave is tied for No. 15 on the 49er career goals scored chart with 117 goals. His 67 goals this season also ranks No. 5 on the 49er single season chart. McCleave had scored a goal in 14 consecutive games until being shutout at Cal.
Jay Gerardi: Junior Jay Gerardi (Long Beach, CA) continues to pile up the goals. In the three games last weekend Gerardi scored eight goals and has 12 goals in his last four games. On Nov. 6 he had a career-high tying four goals vs. UCLA and then followed that up with three at UC Davis, two at Pacific and three at Cal. Gerardi has 48 goals this year, placing him second on the team. His 1.60 goal per game average ranks 11th in the MPSF. With 86 career goals scored, he now ranks No. 23 on the 49er chart. He previously scored four goals on October 8 vs. Princeton and has 15 multiple-goal games this season.
Thomas Onyshko: Senior goalie Thomas Onyshko (Simi Valley) took over the No. 1 spot in career saves at the NorCal Tournament as he recorded 35 saves in the four games. Onyshko set the mark on October 15 against Cal. Onyshko currently has 801 career saves, breaking the previous mark of 724 set by Brian Flint (1984-86). He has tallied 235 saves this season, a mark which ranks No. 5 all-time on the 49er single season chart. He has hit double digits in saves nine times.
Brad Scoles: Senior Brad Scoles (Ashland, OR) has played in every game in his three-plus years at Long Beach State, 122 appearances in the pool. He has been in the starting lineup in 106 of those contests. Scoles has 38 goals scored this year and 108 in his 49er career (No. 18 all-time).
Stefan Ludecke: Senior Stefan Ludecke (Hamburg, Germany) has been playing excellent water polo recently. Ludecke has scored seven goals in the last five games. He tallied a season-high tying three goals on Nov. 3 at UC Irvine and had two goals in the overtime loss at Cal last Sunday. Ludecke is sixth on the team with 22 goals scored this season.
Eight Seniors Say Goodbye: Eight 49ers will be playing in their final home game on Saturday at the Campus Pool. The 2005 seniors are: Riley Brady, Erik Geoffroy, Stefan Ludecke, Brett McCleave, Thomas Onyshko, Satoshi Sakata, Brad Scoles and Ian Wenger.
MPSF Stats: In the latest MPSF stats the 49ers rank first in the league in scoring at 10.40 goals per game and ninth in goalkeeping at 8.07 goals allowed per game. Individually, Brett McCleave ranks third in scoring at 2.23 goals per game, Jay Gerardi is 11th at 1.60, Erik Geoffroy is 15th at 1.43 and Brad Scoles is 20th at 1.27 goals per game.
MPSF Tournament: The MPSF Tournament will be held November 25-27 on the campus of USC. The top eight team advance with the winner earning the league's automatic bid to the NCAA Championships. Tournament play begins on Friday at 10 am as the No. 4 seed takes on the No. 5 seed. Tournament passes can be purchased for $30 for adults and $15 for students and children. All-Session packages can be purchased by calling the USC Ticket Office at (213) 740-4672. | LBSU CAREER GOALS SCORED | | 1. 231, Kyle Kopp (1987-89) | | 2. 205, Mike Burke (1988-91) | | 3. 177, Erik Geoffroy (2001-03, 05) | | 4. 174, Jeff Coyler (1995-98) | | 5. 165, Chris Segesman (1998-01) | | 6. 162, Grant Jeffries (1979-81, 83) | | 7. 160, Bob Dolan (1978-81) | | 8. 154, Kip Parsons (1992-93, 95) | | 9. 142, Scott Weir (1976-78) | | 10. 128, Chi Kredell (1989-91, 93) | | T13. 122, Reid Tomassi (2003-05) | | T15. 117, Brett McCleave (2003-05) | | 18. 108, Brad Scoles (2002-05) | | 23. 86, Jay Gerardi (2003-05) |
| MSPF STANDING | MPSF | OVERALL | | 1.USC | 7-0 | 20-1 | | 2. California | 5-2 | 19-5 | | 2. Stanford | 5-2 | 16-5 | | 2. UC Irvine | 5-2 | 16-10 | | 5. UCLA | 4-2 | 18-6 | | 6. Pacific | 2-4 | 18-10 | | 7. Pepperdine | 1-5 | 15-9 | | 8. Long Beach St. | 0-6 | 16-14 | | 9. UCSB | 0-6 | 13-15 |
|
