Long Beach State University
UC Santa Barbara
Defense Leads LBSU In Win Against UCSB
10/20/2017 12:00:00 AM | Men's Water Polo
Long Beach, Calif. — With an emphasis on defense, No. 8 Long Beach State got a big 10-6 win against No. 10 UC Santa Barbara Friday night.
Junior defender Austin Stevenson led the team with three goals, while also being a big part of the Beach (11-9, 1-2) defense that held the Gauchos (9-9, 0-2) to a .231 hitting percentage.
"The biggest thing we've been focusing on is our defense," Stevenson said. "When we get good defensive stops, we tend to a get bit more energy on offense and hopefully score."
Stevenson got the scoring started when he scored with 4:06 left in the first quarter. After the Gauchos tied the game, Max Cusator and Austin Stewart scored to give LBSU a 3-1 lead with 1:06 left in the first.
The Gauchos scored with time winding down to make it 3-2 at the end of the first.
In the second quarter, the Beach went on a 3-1 run to make it 6-3 at halftime.
Luke Ritter got things going in the third quarter with a goal at the 6:23 mark to give LBSU a 7-3 lead.
Stevenson's second goal of the game gave the Beach an 8-4 lead with 4:15 left in the third quarter.
After a few turnovers by both teams, Stevenson completed his hat trick with 37 seconds left in the third to give the Beach a 9-4 lead.
In the fourth quarter, Troy Kaltenbach scored to give LBSU a 10-6 lead after an assist from Chandler Kaltenbach.
Thomas Freeman had 10 saves on the night.
The Beach will be back in the pool Sunday for a doubleheader when they host No. 3 California at noon and end the day against Golden West College at 3 p.m.
Box Score:
No. 8 Long Beach State 3, 3, 3, 1 | 10
No. 10 UC Santa Barbara 2, 1, 1, 2 | 6
Goals: Stevenson 3, Stewart 2, Cusator 1, T. Kaltenbach 1, Bakic 1, Holden 1, Ritter 1
Players Mentioned
