Long Beach State University
UC San Diego
Beach Water Polo Tops UC San Diego 10-4
10/15/2015 12:00:00 AM | Men's Water Polo
Long Beach, Calif. -
In front of a crowd of 457 fans, No. 8 Long Beach State tops UC San Diego 10-4 at the end of double-header home opener.
The Beach struck first and fast after winning the sprint. Redshirt freshman Chandler Kaltenbach drew the 5-meter penalty shot, and redshirt freshman Austin Stevenson connected to lead 1-0 with just 24 seconds off the clock to start the game.
LBSU then drew two exclusions, in the three-minute mark. The 49ers couldn't find the back of the net on the first one, but freshman Keegan Wicken connected in the second man advantage to give the Beach a 2-0 lead with just over three minutes to play.
UCSD drew the man advantage with over a minute to play, and head coach Denny Harper called for a timeout to go over the play. The time out worked as Triton's junior Andy Moore scored just seconds after to end the first down 2-1.
The 49ers added another goal from their second 5-meter penalty rewarded to senior Dimitrios Lappas. Sophomore Lovro Miocevic took the shot and connected to lead 3-1 at the 5:21 mark of the second quarter.
Senior Pavo Ljepopio garnered three saves in the second to blank the Tritons and secure a two-goal lead going into the second half.
UCSD started firing to begin the third, attempting to cut LBSU's lead, but Ljepopio started the second half with three big saves in the first two minutes.
The Tritons drew an exclusion off Wicken and called a timeout to draw up a play. Ljepopio came up big with the save to keep the score 4-1 in favor of the Beach.
Miocevic fired from the outside and scored his second goal of the match to give the Beach a 4-1 lead with 5:17 left to play in the third quarter.
With just under three and a half minutes to play, Tritons' goalie Jack Turner came up with the steal, but Wicken stole the rebound from Turner and flicked it in to give the Beach a 5-1 lead at the 3:16 mark.
Sophomore Cole Martinez broke the scoring drought for UCSD, scoring inside the 2-meters at the 1:39 mark to make the score 5-2 in favor of the 49ers. Tice answered for the Beach with a redirected goal to give his team a 6-2 lead going into the fourth.
LBSU's offense continued into the fourth, scoring three straight goals at the beginning of the final quarter. Senior Dimitrios Lappas started the scoring as he fired one from outside at the 7:37 mark, and Miocevic followed with a goal from the perimeter for his third goal of the night. The 49ers drew another 5-meter penalty, and Chandler Kaltenbach connected on it to give the Beach a 9-2 lead with 5:06 left in the match.
The Tritons answered back, notching two goals off two exclusions. Nick Alexander scored on the first, and Martinez added the other for his second goal of the night to cut the 49ers' lead to 9-4 at the 3:34 mark of the fourth quarter.
The Beach ended the night drawing their fourth 5-meter penalty. Stevenson connected on his second penalty shot to give the 49ers the 10-4 lead.
Ljepopio finished with 10 saves in the match while the Turner had seven.
LBSU Improves to 7-9 in the season, and UCSD falls to 9-10.
The Beach continue their homestand with their third MPSF Conference match against No. 6 UC Santa Barbara this Saturday at noon at the Ken Lindgren Aquatics center, followed by the men and women's alumni matches.
BOX SCORE
FINAL RESULTS | |||||||
No. 15 UC San Diego4, No. 8 Long Beach State 10 | |||||||
Ken Lindgren Aquatics Center · Long Beach, Calif. · 10/15/15 |
SCORING BY PERIODS
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | FINAL | |||
UCSD | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 4 | ||
LBSU | 2 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 10 |
Goals:
UCSD - Cole Martinez 2, Andy Moore, Nick Alexander
LBSU - Lovro Miocevic 3, Austin Stevenson 2, Keegan Wicken 2, Dimitrios Lappas, Chandler Kaltenbach, Josh Tice
Saves:
UCSD - Jack Turner 7
LBSU - Pavo Ljepopio 10
Players Mentioned
