Long Beach State University
8-3
UC Santa Barbara
6-4
Men’s Water Polo Drops No. 8 UC Santa Barbara, Long Beach City To Close Their First Weekend At Home
9/18/2022 4:53:00 PM | Men's Water Polo
Rafael Real Vergara scored five goals to pace Long Beach State to a 13-10 win over UC Santa Barbara.
Long Beach State (8-3) got off to a strong start against No. 8 UC Santa Barbara (6-4) as Real Vergara struck first on the opening possession, and then Matt Morris followed to give the Beach a quick 2-0 lead. The Gauchos rallied to tie the contest, but the Beach held a 3-2 lead after the first quarter.
In the second, goals from Matt Morris and Vergara helped push the edge to three, and then goals in the final minute from Vergara and Bruno Chiappini left LBSU in front 8-4 at the half. UCSB bounced back in the third, taking the early momentum by scoring the first two goals to cut the lead to two with 5:54 to play.
Vergara scored on the powerplay to put the Beach back up by three, and then stole back all of the momentum with an incredible play. Knocking away an entry pass, Vergara won back possession and then from the side of the pool caught out the UCSB keeper for a three-quarter length goal to put the Beach back up four at 10-6. That cushion would hold the rest of the way barring a last second goal from Dash McFarland in the 13-10 win.
This UNREAL play from Rafael Real Vergara snatched back the momentum as No. 7 Long Beach State runs their winning streak to 5? by beating No. 8 UC Santa Barbara 13-10. #GoBeach pic.twitter.com/g645RIOQM1
— LBSU Water Polo (@LBSUWaterPolo) September 18, 2022
In the second game of the day, Long Beach State welcomed Long Beach City College to the pool for the team's four game in four days for an exhibition. The Vikings got off to a strong start, taking a 2-0 lead in the first quarter. The Beach tied the game at two, but a goal from Harry Peterson had Long Beach City up 1-0 after the first quarter.
A goal from Botond Hajud brought the Beach square in the start of the second quarter as the LBSU defense clamped down. Liam Ward ultimately made five saves in the half as the Beach held the Vikings off of the board in the second and took a 7-3 lead into the break as Garrett Potter scored the first of his three goals in the game.
Long Beach State cruised from there, pulling way for a 13-7 victory in the exhibition over Long Beach City.
Long Beach State will take part in another tournament, traveling to Stanford to compete in the MPSF Invite starting Friday, September 23. The Beach will open the tournament at 3:20 p.m. against No. 10 San Jose State as 14 of the Top 20 teams in the nation are taking part in next weekend's action.
Team Stats
Rafael Real Vergara
7:32
Matt Morris
6:14
Brock Zamanian
5:38
Brock Zamanian
4:45
Bruno Chiappini
3:52
Botond Hajdu
6:40
Brock Zamanian
6:15
Matt Morris
5:58
Rafael Real Vergara
5:12
Tommy Hawkins
4:51
Rafael Real Vergara
0:45
Bruno Chiappini
0:08
Logan Sutter
6:59
Henry Allen
5:54
Rafael Real Vergara
3:43
Rafael Real Vergara
3:18
Evan Cain
2:27
Ryan Brosnan
1:56
Garrett Zaan
6:57
Sam Nangle
6:00
Raul Morales
4:36
Ryan Brosnan
1:54
Dash McFarland
0:04
Game Leaders
Players Mentioned
