Long Beach State University Athletics
49ers Open MPSF Conference Play Against No. 2 USC
9/22/2015 12:00:00 AM | Men's Water Polo
Long Beach, Calif. -
No. 7 Long Beach State will have their first MPSF Conference match against No. 2 USC at the Uytengsu Aquatics Center on Saturday, Sept. 26. The match will begin at 7 p.m. and will be aired on the Pac-12 Networks.
The Beach stand at 4-4 and will look to go above .500 against the Trojans, who have only lost one match this season with a record of 9-1.
This is the first meeting between both teams. In their last match-up, LBSU lost only their second MPSF match against the Trojans 13-7. Of the scorers in that game, Zacchary Kappos is the only one who remains this year. Kappos had only one goal in the NorCal Tournament, but an important game-winning goal in sudden victory against UC Irvine.
Senior Dimitrios Lappas leads the 49ers in goals so far this season with 12. A couple of redshirts have also contributed consistently on the offensive side for the Beach in sophomore Duncan Lynde (10 goals) and redshirt freshman Austin Stevenson (8 goals).
Sophomore Lee Griffin ignited his offense, scoring his first goals of the season last weekend at the NorCal Tournament. Griffin led all 49ers with six goals throughout the four games, including a hat trick in the 12-11 win over UCI. His offense helped guide the 49ers to close wins over tough offensive teams, and will look to continue that drive into this weekend.
Senior Pavo Ljepopio has manned the net averaging 11.17 saves per game, including 52 saves in the NorCal Tournament last weekend, where the 49ers finished in sixth place.
As for USC, their only loss came in the Semifinals of the NorCal Tournament to Stanford, 6-5. The Trojans claimed third place with a win over California. Junior Blake Edwards lead all with 31 goals in the season. Sophomore goalie McQuin Baron has 76 total saves and averages 9.8 saves per game.
The Beach will continue the conference next weekend against UC Irvine on Saturday, Oct 3rd at Irvine, Calif.
Players Mentioned
