
Photo by: John Fajardo
Men’s Water Polo Opens The 2022 Season At The Triton Invitational
9/1/2022 12:44:00 PM | Men's Water Polo
A strong veteran core for Long Beach State has aims for another trip to the postseason in 2022.
LONG BEACH, Calif. – With big dreams for the 2022 campaign, Long Beach State Men's Water Polo begins the season Saturday, September 3, playing the first of four games on the weekend when the Beach takes on Westcliff at 8:30 a.m. in La Jolla at the Triton Invitational.
Coming off of a Golden Coast Conference championship and the program's second NCAA appearance in the last three years, the Beach is aiming for a return trip with many of the key members of the team returning. The Beach brings back over 70% of their goal scoring from last season, led by junior Rafael Real Vergara.
Vergara led the team and the GCC with 70 goals last year as the Beach went undefeated in league play, and the Brazilian was named the Golden Coast Conference Player of the Year on the way to All-America honors.
Matt Morris and Garrett Zaan also both return after earning Honorable Mention All-America honors from a year ago. Morris scored 42 goals with 18 assists, both second on the team, while Zaan scored 36 goals while putting up one of the highest shooting percentages of the team.
Evan Cain looks to impress after a strong debut season where he scored 27 goals and catching the eye of the USA Men's Water Polo setup, while freshman Bruno Chiappini hopes to be the next freshman phenom at the Beach after competing internationally with the Brazil National Team over the summer.
Defensively, starting goalkeeper Andrej Bosanac is back for his junior season after making 245 saves for Long Beach State last season, earning Honorable Mention All-America honors as well. With a strong season, Bosanac can enter the Top 10 in Long Beach State history in career saves while hopefully leading LBSU to big results as he did in the Golden Coast Conference Tournament a year ago, where he was named the tournament MVP after leading the Beach to the trophy.
This weekend, after the season opener against Westcliff, Long Beach State will take on either No. 7 UC Davis or No. 18 Pomona-Pitzer in the team's second game of the Triton Invitational on Saturday. The Beach is then slated for two more games on Sunday, starting early in the morning.
Check back throughout the weekend at www.longbeachstate.com for updates from the tournament or visit the Tournament Central page provided by UC San Diego at https://ucsdtritons.com/sports/2022/8/12/2022-triton-invitational.aspx.
Coming off of a Golden Coast Conference championship and the program's second NCAA appearance in the last three years, the Beach is aiming for a return trip with many of the key members of the team returning. The Beach brings back over 70% of their goal scoring from last season, led by junior Rafael Real Vergara.
Vergara led the team and the GCC with 70 goals last year as the Beach went undefeated in league play, and the Brazilian was named the Golden Coast Conference Player of the Year on the way to All-America honors.
Matt Morris and Garrett Zaan also both return after earning Honorable Mention All-America honors from a year ago. Morris scored 42 goals with 18 assists, both second on the team, while Zaan scored 36 goals while putting up one of the highest shooting percentages of the team.
Evan Cain looks to impress after a strong debut season where he scored 27 goals and catching the eye of the USA Men's Water Polo setup, while freshman Bruno Chiappini hopes to be the next freshman phenom at the Beach after competing internationally with the Brazil National Team over the summer.
Defensively, starting goalkeeper Andrej Bosanac is back for his junior season after making 245 saves for Long Beach State last season, earning Honorable Mention All-America honors as well. With a strong season, Bosanac can enter the Top 10 in Long Beach State history in career saves while hopefully leading LBSU to big results as he did in the Golden Coast Conference Tournament a year ago, where he was named the tournament MVP after leading the Beach to the trophy.
This weekend, after the season opener against Westcliff, Long Beach State will take on either No. 7 UC Davis or No. 18 Pomona-Pitzer in the team's second game of the Triton Invitational on Saturday. The Beach is then slated for two more games on Sunday, starting early in the morning.
Check back throughout the weekend at www.longbeachstate.com for updates from the tournament or visit the Tournament Central page provided by UC San Diego at https://ucsdtritons.com/sports/2022/8/12/2022-triton-invitational.aspx.
Players Mentioned
MWP vs. Pomona-Pitzer Highlights
Saturday, November 24
2018 Golden Coast Conference Champions
Sunday, November 18
LBSU Fast 5 Austin Stevenson
Wednesday, November 30
LBSU Fast 5 Jacob Fujioka
Wednesday, November 16



























