Friday, November 9
Long Beach, Calif.
7:00 PM
Long Beach State University
8
vs
7
UC Irvine
Photo by: Christian Millan
Thriller Ends Senior Night On A High Note For The Beach
11/9/2018 9:58:00 PM | Men's Water Polo
A thrilling finish to senior night ended things on a high note for the Long Beach State seniors as the Beach held off UC Irvine, 8-7.
LONG BEACH, Calif. – No. 6 Long Beach State (11-11, 3-2 GCC) looked to end the regular season on a positive note for the team and its senior class, but No. 11 UC Irvine (8-15, 1-4 GCC) put up a competitive fight on Friday night. Senior Max Cusator would play hero as he scored the go-ahead goal for the Beach. UCI would have one last opportunity as time ran out but would not be able to connect, falling 8-7.
The game opened with a three minute dry period with excellent goalkeeping by sophomore Marwan Darwish. Junior Austin Stewart would start the game off for the Beach by netting his first goal of the game to put the Beach up one and so the back-and-forth game would commence. UCI would respond seconds later to tie the game, but senior Austin Stevenson would strike with a penalty shot to put the Beach back up. UCI would tie the game back up seconds later and leave us at 2-2 at the end of the first period.
The Anteaters would take the lead scoring the first goal of the second quarter, but Golden Coast Player of the Week Garrett Zaan would score for the Beach to tie things back up again. UCI would take the lead later in the quarter, but senior Chandler Kaltenbach would score with half a minute left in the quarter to tie things back up for LBSU. Zaan would open things up in the third quarter to push the Beach in front of the Anteaters, but the two programs would continue to trade blows to put the game at 7-7 at the end of the third.
Cusator would ignite the crowd scoring the go-ahead goal with 7:18 left in the fourth to give them the lead, 8-7. The Anteaters would make their attempts to put down the Beach, but strong defense and goalkeeping by Darwish would put an end to their hopes.
Strong senior performances led the Beach to their victory in this one with Stevenson, Kaltenbach, and Cusator all scoring in their final home game. Senior Keegan Wicken would make two huge steals and a couple of blocks to add to the senior contribution. In addition to the seniors bagging their share of goals, Stewart would also add to his goal total of the season making it 45, while freshman Theodoros Pateros would get his total to 12 goals. Zaan extended his goal total to 20 in addition to extending his team-high streak of 11 straight games with a goal scored.
The Beach closed the season with a four-game win streak to lead them into the GCC Tournament. LBSU patiently awaits their opponent that will be announced, along with the time, in the coming days.
The game opened with a three minute dry period with excellent goalkeeping by sophomore Marwan Darwish. Junior Austin Stewart would start the game off for the Beach by netting his first goal of the game to put the Beach up one and so the back-and-forth game would commence. UCI would respond seconds later to tie the game, but senior Austin Stevenson would strike with a penalty shot to put the Beach back up. UCI would tie the game back up seconds later and leave us at 2-2 at the end of the first period.
The Anteaters would take the lead scoring the first goal of the second quarter, but Golden Coast Player of the Week Garrett Zaan would score for the Beach to tie things back up again. UCI would take the lead later in the quarter, but senior Chandler Kaltenbach would score with half a minute left in the quarter to tie things back up for LBSU. Zaan would open things up in the third quarter to push the Beach in front of the Anteaters, but the two programs would continue to trade blows to put the game at 7-7 at the end of the third.
Cusator would ignite the crowd scoring the go-ahead goal with 7:18 left in the fourth to give them the lead, 8-7. The Anteaters would make their attempts to put down the Beach, but strong defense and goalkeeping by Darwish would put an end to their hopes.
Strong senior performances led the Beach to their victory in this one with Stevenson, Kaltenbach, and Cusator all scoring in their final home game. Senior Keegan Wicken would make two huge steals and a couple of blocks to add to the senior contribution. In addition to the seniors bagging their share of goals, Stewart would also add to his goal total of the season making it 45, while freshman Theodoros Pateros would get his total to 12 goals. Zaan extended his goal total to 20 in addition to extending his team-high streak of 11 straight games with a goal scored.
The Beach closed the season with a four-game win streak to lead them into the GCC Tournament. LBSU patiently awaits their opponent that will be announced, along with the time, in the coming days.
Players Mentioned
Attacker
/ Men's Water Polo
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
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