49ers Begin Season At 8-0
September 12, 2005
PDF Version of this Release
| LONG BEACH STATE MEN'S WATER POLO | | Overall Record: 8-0 | | MPSF Record: 0-0 | | Latest National Ranking: No. 6 | This Week's Action:
Sept. 17-18 at SoCal Tournament (Irvine) |
The Records: Long Beach State ran its record to 8-0 on the season with four victories at the Inland Empire Classic. The 8-0 start is the best beginning for a 49er team since the 1981 team began the season 10-1. This week the 49ers take part in the annual SoCal Tournament. On Saturday the 49ers tangle with Pacific at 11:30 am at Corona del Mar High School. Their second game will be against either USC or Redlands.
The Coach: Rick Azevedo is 98-78 (.557) in his seventh year as the head coach at Long Beach State.
The Series: The 49ers are 44-17 all-time vs. Pacific, 22-48 vs. USC and 3-0 vs. Redlands. Last year the 49ers defeated the tigers 12-6 in Long Beach. The 49ers have won three in a row over the Tigers and six of its last seven. Last year against USC the Trojans defeated the 49ers 9-3 in Long Beach. The last 49er win over the Trojans came in 2000, an 11-9 49er triumph in Long Beach. USC has won the last seven games. Last weekend the 49ers defeated Redlands 12-6 at the Inland Empire Classic.
SoCal Tournament: The SoCal Tournament kicks off on Saturday with games being played on the UC Irvine campus and at Corona del Mar High School. The 49ers are in Pool C with USC, Pacific and Redlands. LBSU takes on Pacific at 11:30 am at Corona del Mar HS and then if they win, they play the USC/Redlands winner at 4:10 pm. Tournament play continues on Sunday at both sites. Other pools consist of: Pool A: UCLA, UCI, LMU, Bucknell; Pool B: Cal, UCSD, UC Davis, Cal Baptist; Pool D: Stanford, Pepperdine, Navy, UCSB.
Inland Empire Classic Recap: The 49ers went 4-0 at the Inland Empire Classic, scoring at least 12 goals in each game. Both Brett McCleave and Erik Geoffroy scored eight goals in the four games, while Satoshi Sakata added seven. Freshman Derek Weibe-Bailey earned some playing time, playing in goal in the second half against Occidental and Cal Lutheran and in the fourth quarter against Whittier.
LBSU 17, Occidental 2: Sakata scored a career-high four goals in the 49ers triumph, while Stefan Ludecke added three. Weibe-Bailey made five saves in the second half, while allowing just one goal.
LBSU 15, Cal Lutheran 4: Brad Scoles led the way with three goals and Geoffroy and McCleave added two each. Eleven different players scored.
LBSU 12, Redlands 6: Jay Gerardi scored three goals and Geoffroy added two as the 49ers won 12-6. Goalie Thomas Onyshko had eight saves in the game.
LBSU 15, Whittier 10: McCleave scored three times, and Gerardi, Geoffroy and Reid Tomassi both scored twice in the win. LBSU led 8-5 at the half and held on from there to earn the victory.
Pre-Season Poll: The MPSF men's water polo coaches released their pre-season poll and the 49ers were tabbed to finish in sixth place. The predicted order of finish according to the coaches: 1. UCLA; 2. California; 3. USC; 4. Stanford; 5. Pepperdine, 6. LBSU; 7. UC Irvine; 8. Pacific; 9. UCSB.
Offensive Firepower: Through the first eight games of the season the 49ers have hit double digits in each contest, averaging 13.75 goals scored per game. With 110 goals scored thus far, the 49ers are looking to break the school-record of 313 goals set in both 1981 and 1985. In 1981 the 49ers finished 25-9, averaging 9.21 goals per game. In 1985 the 49ers were 23-10, averaging 9.48 goals per outing.
Brett McCleave: Senior Brett McCleave (Lake Forest) continued his strong play, scoring eight goals at the Inland Empire Classic. McCleave leads the squad with 24 goals scored and has had seven multiple-goal games this season. He needs just five more goals to tied for No. 24 on the 49er career chart.
Thomas Onyshko: Senior goalie Thomas Onyshko (Simi Valley) keeps inching closer to the No. 1 spot in career saves. With 19 saves last weekend, Onyshko had 50 saves this year and 616 in his 49er career. He needs just 109 more saves to become the school record-holder, passing Brian Flint (724 saves). Onyshko tallied a season-high 10 saves in the opener against St. Francis (NY) and followed that with nine saves in the win over Navy. Last season Onyshko recorded 233 saves, a mark which ranks No. 7 all-time on the 49er single season chart.
Satoshi Sakata: Senior Satoshi Sakata (Yokohama, Japan) scored a career-high four goals in the 49ers win over Occidental on Saturday at the Inland Empire Classic. Sakata scored a total of seven goals in the tournament and now is sixth on the team with 10 goals. Sakata has scored at least one goal in seven of the eight games this season. Last year Sakata scored 14 goals.
Brad Scoles: Senior Brad Scoles (Ashland, OR) has played in every game in his three-plus years at Long Beach State, 100 appearances in the pool. He has been in the starting lineup in 84 of those contests. Scoles kicked off the 2005 campaign in fine fashion, scoring seven goals at the Navy Labor Day Open and followed that up with six goals at the Inland Empire Classic. Scoles is second on the team with 13 goals and has scored in every game this year. Scoles is currently No. 21 on the 49er career chart with 83 goals scored.
Riley Brady: Senior Riley Brady (El Segundo) scored his first goals of the year last weekend at the Inland Empire Classic. Brady scored four goals, including two in the win over Occidental. Brady scored seven goals last season and had 17 career goals heading into the 2005 campaign.
Derek Weibe-Bailey: Freshman Derek Weibe-Bailey (Irvine) saw his first action as a 49er this past weekend at the Inland Empire Classic. Weibe-Bailey played in three games, playing the entire second half against Occidental and Cal Lutheran and the fourth quarter against Whittier. He recorded five saves against Occidental, two against Cal Lutheran and one against Whittier. Weibe-Bailey is a true freshman out of Northwood High School where he was a first team all-league and second team All-CIF selection. | LBSU CAREER GOALS SCORED | | 1. 231, Kyle Kopp (1987-89) | | 2. 205, Mike Burke (1988-91) | | 3. 174, Jeff Colyer (1995-98) | | 4. 165, Chris Segesman (1998-01) | | 5. 162, Grant Jeffries (1979-81, 83) | | 6. 160, Bob Dolan (1978-81) | | 7. 154, Kip Parsons (1992-93, 95) | | 8. 149, Erik Geoffroy (2002-03, 05) | | 9. 142, Scott Weir (1976-78) | | 10. 128, Chi Kredell (1989-91, 93) | | 18. 100, Reid Tomassi (2003-05) | | 21. 83, Brad Scoles (2002-05) | | -- 74, Brett McCleave (2004-05) |
|
