Men’s Water Polo Just Short As They Fall On The Road To Stanford

Thursday, October 19

Stanford, Calif.

7 p.m.

Long Beach State University

14-8, 1-1

Stanford

12-5, 2-2

Long Beach State

Stanford

Photo by: John Fajardo

Men’s Water Polo Just Short As They Fall On The Road To Stanford

10/19/2023 8:32:00 PM | Men's Water Polo

Box Score

The Beach battled, but were unable to overcome an early two-goal deficit.

By: Bryan Alamillo, Athletics Communications Assistant

STANFORD, Calif.— No. 8 Long Beach State battled for the whole game, but ultimately fell in a back-and-forth affair against No. 3 Stanford. Robert Lopez Duart led the Beach with four goals and Caleb Francisco added three of his own, but Long Beach State fell to Stanford, 13-11.

After capitalizing on an early six-on-five opportunity, Stanford looked to double their lead and had the opportunity to do so with a five-meter penalty. However, Liam Ward would come up with a big save to deny the Cardinal. Just seconds later, Long Beach State would draw an exclusion and would capitalize through Evan Cain, evening the score at 1-1. Stanford would respond with back-to-back goals to make the score 3-1 in favor of the hosts.

The second quarter started as a defensive battle between the two teams. Neither team could find the back of the net, until Stanford broke the deadlock with 4:49 in the quarter. Robert Lopez Duart would respond with two goals in the next minute to bring the Beach within one. However, Stanford would again close the quarter with consecutive goals, giving them a 6-3 lead at halftime.

Stanford opened the third quarter by extending their lead after drawing a Long Beach State exclusion, but a Riley Catino backhand would keep the Stanford lead at three goals. The Beach had to bear down on defense, stopping another Stanford powerplay before a Caleb Francisco goal made the score 7-5. Unfortunately, another Stanford six-on-five opportunity led to a goal to push their lead back to three goals. Lopez Duart would pull a goal back, scoring his third of the night, but Stanford responded instantaneously with a goal of their own. Bruno Chiappini also found the back of the net, but once again the Cardinal had an immediate response. The two teams continued trading goals throughout the quarter, with Francisco and Lopez Duart both scoring, but Stanford would remain in the lead, 11-9.

Riley Catino cut the lead down to one with a goal in the first minute of the fourth quarter, but once again Stanford would bounce back to score a goal of their own. After Bruno Chiappini drew an exclusion, Caleb Francisco would score his third of the night cutting the Stanford lead back down to one with 2:01 remaining in the game. With under a minute to play the Cardinal would score another goal restoring their two-goal lead and holding on for the 13-11 victory.

Long Beach State is back in action for another tough matchup with No. 2 California on Saturday. The game will start at noon in Berkeley, with a live stream available at Pac-12.com and live stats available at scores.6-8sports.com.