Long Beach State University
Pacific
49ers split on Day 1 at NorCal Open
9/18/2010 12:00:00 AM | Men's Water Polo
Sept. 18, 2010
Pleasant Hill, Calif. - The Long Beach State men's water polo team lost to Pacific 11-9 in its opening game of the 2010 Northern California Open, Saturday at Diablo Valley College in Pleasant Hill, Calif. In the second game, The Beach edged Air Force 10-9 after the Falcons lost their opener to UCLA 15-5.
Alexsandr Petrovic led Long Beach State with five goals on the day, including a hat trick against Air Force. Freshman Nick Rascon upped his team-high goals scored to 14 while Taylor Clute chipped in three goals to match his season-total from 2009.
With the loss to Pacific, the 49ers went to 3-2 against the Tigers at the NorCal Tournament and 47-24 all-time. With the win over Air Force, Long Beach State pushed its record to 3-0 at the NorCal Tournament against the Falcons and 24-6 all-time.
In the first game against Pacific, the 49ers played a tight game throughout, but came up just short after a couple of late exclusion penalties.
Both defenses were playing well early in the game and The Beach took a 1-0 lead into the second period, then both team's offenses got into gear. The 49ers matched the Tigers with five goals each in the second frame and Long Beach State held on to a 6-5 lead at the half, but a 2-0 third period by Pacific gave the Tigers a 7-6 edge heading into the final frame. The 49ers fought back with three goals in the fourth, but the Tigers found the back of the net with four goals of their own and held on for an 11-9 win.
Five different Long Beach State players scored in the loss. For the third straight game, freshman Rascon led the 49ers in scoring. Rascon finished with a hat trick. It was his fourth multiple-goal game, and third with at least three scores. Petrovic and Shane Luth each added two goals while Brian Schiefer and Clute chipped in with one each.
With the loss, the 49ers got set to play Air Force after the Falcons dropped their first game of the tournament to UCLA.
In that game, Long Beach State held on for a hard fought 10-9 win over a determined Air Force squad. After scoring two goals against Pacific, Petrovic came right back with a hat trick against the Falcons, giving him a team-high five goals on the day and nine for the year. Freshman Dan Matulis notched his first two career-goals for The Beach while Clute added two more goals to give him 11 on the year - matching his season-total from all of last year. Patrick van der Linde, Barry Snyder and Rascon each added a goal apiece in the win. Rascon leads the team with 14 goals scored.
Long Beach State will play its final two games at the NorCal Open, Sunday at Diablo Valley College in Pleasant Hill, Calif.
The 49ers will face UC Davis at noon. If Long Beach State beats UC Davis in that game, it will play at 5:20 p.m. for 9th place. If the 49ers lose, they will play at 4 p.m. for 11th place. Additional match-ups will be announced when games are final.
