Long Beach State University
Fordham
No. 10 Long Beach State Drops Sudden Death Heartbreaker Against No. 5 Fordham
10/21/2025 7:29:00 PM | Men's Water Polo
Caleb Francisco tied for most goals scored in a single game with a new career-high of eight goals.
LONG BEACH, Calif. – No. 5 Fordham forced a late comeback in the last quarter to take No. 10 Long Beach State into overtime and earn the win in a thrilling sudden-death overtime match, 16-15. Caleb Francisco tied for the most goals scored in a single game with a new career high of eight goals to pace the Beach on offense, but it wasn't enough to stop the Rams on Tuesday afternoon at the LBCC Aquatics Complex.
Fordham (14-1) got on the board quickly with Luca Provenziani, but Gabi Acosta tied the game for Long Beach State (12-8). The Rams took the lead one more time before Caleb Francisco scored his first two of the game to put the Beach ahead 3-2 after the first quarter.
Provenziani tied the game for the Rams early in the second before a 3-0 run by the Beach gave control of the game to the hosts, leading 6-3 with three minutes left in the quarter. Fordham cut the margin to two, but a late goal by Konstantinos Kapragkos kept Long Beach State ahead by three at halftime.
Both teams traded goals in the third as the Beach opened a four-goal lead after another three from Francisco in the quarter, leading 11-7 with 1:34 left in the third. A late goal by Andras Toth shortened the lead for the Rams after three periods.
Jason O'Donnell extended the lead to 12-8 early in the fourth quarter, but a strong comeback from the Rams turned it into a one-goal game, 12-11, with 3:58 left in the quarter. O'Donnell put the Beach up by two, but the Rams found a way to tie it with two goals in one minute to take the game into overtime, 13-13.
Francisco's seventh goal of the game opened the scoring in overtime and gave the Beach a 14-13 lead after the first period of overtime. The Rams tied the game in the second period of overtime, and Francisco put the Beach ahead once again with 1:15 left. With one second remaining in the second overtime period, Fordham tied the game on a rebound off the post to force sudden death. With two seconds left in the third period of overtime, Luca Provenziani gave the Rams the win over the Beach, 16-15, in a thrilling game.
The Beach will now switch gears to face No. 10 UC Santa Barbara in conference play on Saturday night at the LBCC Aquatics Complex. The first sprint is scheduled for 7 p.m., with live stats available through theFOSH.net.
