Thursday, October 20
Long Beach, Calif.
5 p.m.
Long Beach State University
16-7
14
vs
16
California
15-1
1
2
3
4
OT
OT
F
California
2
2
4
4
2
2
16
Long Beach State
1
3
2
6
0
2
14
Photo by: Diego Devia @Devia.Img
Men’s Water Polo Pushes No. 2 Cal To The Limit In Overtime Loss
10/20/2022 7:31:00 PM | Men's Water Polo
Rafael Real Vergara scored seven goals in the defeat to lead Long Beach State.
LONG BEACH, Calif. – Trailing by three goals in the third quarter, Long Beach State rallied to force overtime against No. 2 Cal, but the Golden Bears struck first in the extra periods and held on to beat the Beach 16-14 in a thriller on Friday evening.
In front of a standing room only crowd of 645, No. 6 Long Beach State (16-7) and No. 2 Cal (15-1) went back and forth in what was a taut, fantastic match throughout.
Cal jumped out to a quick lead with a pair of early goals, but the Beach tightened up defensively and got a boost from a goal from Bruno Chiappini. Three first half goals from Rafael Real Vergara helped pull the Beach even, and LBSU and Cal were tied at 4-4 at the end of the first two quarters.
The teams traded early goals in the third quarter, but in the biggest run of the game to that point, Cal scored three unanswered to take an 8-5 lead with 1:48 remaining in the third.
Evan Cain helped turn the tied with a late goal in t eh quarter, and the Beach scored on two straight possessions to start the fourth quarter and the battle was on, tied at 8-8. Long Beach State took the lead with 5:20 remaining as Vergara found Garrett Zaan for a tap in.
Cal would bounce back, taking an 11-9 lead, and led 12-10 with 1:55 remaining but Matt Morris pulled the lead back to one, and a clutch goal with four seconds remaining from Chiappini forced overtime.
Max Casabella put the Golden Bears in the lead in the first overtime with a quick goal, and Cal would lead 14-12 before the side switch. Vergara would score twice in the second overtime, but the Beach ultimately couldn't pull back the lead one final time as the Golden Bears held on for a 16-14 win.
Long Beach State will play one final home game next Friday, October 28 at the Ken Lindgren Aquatics Center as the Beach hosts No. 3 Stanford at 7 p.m. Don't miss it as Long Beach State bids farewell to their departing seniors and graduates for senior night! Live coverage will also be available on ESPN+.
In front of a standing room only crowd of 645, No. 6 Long Beach State (16-7) and No. 2 Cal (15-1) went back and forth in what was a taut, fantastic match throughout.
Cal jumped out to a quick lead with a pair of early goals, but the Beach tightened up defensively and got a boost from a goal from Bruno Chiappini. Three first half goals from Rafael Real Vergara helped pull the Beach even, and LBSU and Cal were tied at 4-4 at the end of the first two quarters.
The teams traded early goals in the third quarter, but in the biggest run of the game to that point, Cal scored three unanswered to take an 8-5 lead with 1:48 remaining in the third.
Evan Cain helped turn the tied with a late goal in t eh quarter, and the Beach scored on two straight possessions to start the fourth quarter and the battle was on, tied at 8-8. Long Beach State took the lead with 5:20 remaining as Vergara found Garrett Zaan for a tap in.
Cal would bounce back, taking an 11-9 lead, and led 12-10 with 1:55 remaining but Matt Morris pulled the lead back to one, and a clutch goal with four seconds remaining from Chiappini forced overtime.
Max Casabella put the Golden Bears in the lead in the first overtime with a quick goal, and Cal would lead 14-12 before the side switch. Vergara would score twice in the second overtime, but the Beach ultimately couldn't pull back the lead one final time as the Golden Bears held on for a 16-14 win.
Long Beach State will play one final home game next Friday, October 28 at the Ken Lindgren Aquatics Center as the Beach hosts No. 3 Stanford at 7 p.m. Don't miss it as Long Beach State bids farewell to their departing seniors and graduates for senior night! Live coverage will also be available on ESPN+.
Team Stats
CAL
LBSU
Shots
34
42
Goals
16
14
Assists
6
7
Points
22
21
Exclusions
15
13
Steals
10
6
Sprints
1
5
1
Max Casabella
6:48
Nikolaos Papanikolaou
6:01
Bruno Chiappini
5:26
2
Roberto Valera
5:50
Rafael Real Vergara
3:40
Rafael Real Vergara
2:08
Nikolaos Papanikolaou
0:54
Rafael Real Vergara
0:18
3
Max Casabella
7:17
Garrett Zaan
5:54
Roberto Valera
4:51
Jack Deely
3:46
Jake Stone
1:48
Evan Cain
0:39
4
Garrett Zaan
7:30
Rafael Real Vergara
6:50
Garrett Zaan
5:20
Max Casabella
5:03
Jack Deely
4:29
Jack Deely
2:36
Rafael Real Vergara
2:27
Nikolaos Papanikolaou
1:55
Matt Morris
0:55
Bruno Chiappini
0:04
5
Max Casabella
2:43
Max Casabella
1:43
6
Rafael Real Vergara
2:41
Warren Loth
2:19
Rafael Real Vergara
1:57
Max Casabella
1:42
Game Leaders
Shots
15
Goals
7
Assists
3
Points
10
Shots
9
Goals
1
Assists
1
Points
2
Shots
5
Goals
3
Assists
0
Points
3
Shots
5
Goals
2
Assists
0
Points
2
Players Mentioned
Utility
/ Men's Water Polo
Utility
/ Men's Water Polo
Attacker
/ Men's Water Polo
Utility
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