Saturday, November 17
Long Beach, Calif.
11 a.m.
Long Beach State University
5
vs
4
Pepperdine
Photo by: John Fajardo
Long Beach State Wins 5-4 To Advance To The GCC Tournament Championship
11/17/2018 4:41:00 PM | Men's Water Polo
The Beach held on for their fifth straight victory on Saturday as they defeated Pepperdine, 5-4. Beach will take on Pacific in GCC Championship game on Sunday.
LONG BEACH, Calif. – Freshman Theodoros Pateros played hero for the Beach as he tapped in the go-ahead goal for the Beach with 23 seconds left in the third period in a 5-4 win over Pepperdine in the Golden Coast Conference Tournament semifinals. The fourth quarter would slip by with neither team scoring, reflective of the defensive battle Saturday at the Ken Lindgren Aquatics Center.
Sophomore goalkeeper Marwan Darwish, who had 15 saves on the day, held second-seed Pepperdine (15-11) off of the board in two quarters, and crucially the fourth, as Long Beach State (12-11) advanced to the tournament championship.
The Beach and the Waves would attempt to score in the first period but would come away with no goals due to stingy defenses. The scoreboard saw action for the first time in the second period when senior Austin Stevenson put the Beach up 1-0. A couple of minutes later, the Waves would respond to tie the game back up at one a piece. Senior Keegan Wicken would break the tie to put the Beach back up one with 2:38 left in the second period. At the half, the Beach led 2-1.
Pepperdine would tie things back up but senior Chandler Kaltenbach would strike with 4:49 left in the third quarter to put the Beach back in front. The Waves would respond second later to notch the game back up at 3-3. A penalty would be called with 2:25 left in the third period where junior Austin Stewart would score the penalty shot putting the Beach up 4-3. With time winding down in the third quarter, Pepperdine would tie things back up at 4-4, but just 26 seconds later, Pateros would tip in the fifth and final goal for the Beach.
Stewart climbed to 46 goals on the season with his penalty goal, continuing to lead the team and Pateros has now scored 13 goals on the year with his go-ahead goal. Both the saves and goals allowed were season-bests for Darwish in an outstanding night in front of goal for the sophomore.
This will be LBSU's first appearance in the GCC tournament championship game in the short history of the conference. The last time Arroyo and the Beach were in any conference tournament final was back in 2014, where they fell to Stanford 8-7 in the MPSF championship game.
LBSU will take on Pacific tomorrow at the Ken Lindgren Aquatics Center at 1 p.m. With a win, the Beach will claim a spot in the NCAA Tournament, their first since 1991.
Sophomore goalkeeper Marwan Darwish, who had 15 saves on the day, held second-seed Pepperdine (15-11) off of the board in two quarters, and crucially the fourth, as Long Beach State (12-11) advanced to the tournament championship.
The Beach and the Waves would attempt to score in the first period but would come away with no goals due to stingy defenses. The scoreboard saw action for the first time in the second period when senior Austin Stevenson put the Beach up 1-0. A couple of minutes later, the Waves would respond to tie the game back up at one a piece. Senior Keegan Wicken would break the tie to put the Beach back up one with 2:38 left in the second period. At the half, the Beach led 2-1.
Pepperdine would tie things back up but senior Chandler Kaltenbach would strike with 4:49 left in the third quarter to put the Beach back in front. The Waves would respond second later to notch the game back up at 3-3. A penalty would be called with 2:25 left in the third period where junior Austin Stewart would score the penalty shot putting the Beach up 4-3. With time winding down in the third quarter, Pepperdine would tie things back up at 4-4, but just 26 seconds later, Pateros would tip in the fifth and final goal for the Beach.
Stewart climbed to 46 goals on the season with his penalty goal, continuing to lead the team and Pateros has now scored 13 goals on the year with his go-ahead goal. Both the saves and goals allowed were season-bests for Darwish in an outstanding night in front of goal for the sophomore.
This will be LBSU's first appearance in the GCC tournament championship game in the short history of the conference. The last time Arroyo and the Beach were in any conference tournament final was back in 2014, where they fell to Stanford 8-7 in the MPSF championship game.
LBSU will take on Pacific tomorrow at the Ken Lindgren Aquatics Center at 1 p.m. With a win, the Beach will claim a spot in the NCAA Tournament, their first since 1991.
Players Mentioned
Goalie
/ Men's Water Polo
Attacker
/ Men's Water Polo
Center
/ Men's Water Polo
Defender
/ Men's Water Polo
Attacker
/ Men's Water Polo
Defender
/ Men's Water PoloMWP vs. Pomona-Pitzer Highlights
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LBSU Fast 5 Austin Stevenson
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LBSU Fast 5 Jacob Fujioka
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