No. 9 Long Beach State Defeats No. 15 UC Irvine For Another Conference Win

Thursday, October 30

Irvine, Calif.

6 p.m.

Long Beach State University

14-8

UC Irvine

14-9

Long Beach State

UC Irvine

Photo by: John Fajardo

No. 9 Long Beach State Defeats No. 15 UC Irvine For Another Conference Win

10/30/2025 7:47:00 PM | Men's Water Polo

Box Score

Eight different players scored for the Beach on the win.

By: Luiza Moraes - Athletic Communication Assistant

IRVINE, Calif. – In an intense Black and Blue Rivalry matchup, No. 9 Long Beach State continued their perfect run in Big West play, defeating No. 15 UC Irvine 13-12 on the road behind four goals from Caleb Francisco.

No. 9 Long Beach State (14-8, 4-0 Big West) got on the board first after a goal by Jason O'Donnell, but four straight goals by No. 15 UC Irvine (14-9, 2-2 Big West) gave the hosts the early lead in the first quarter. Freshman Zalan Nagy found the back of the net on an extra man opportunity to shorten the lead for the Beach. The Anteaters got on the board again, but a late goal by Harper Stewart closed the first quarter as LBSU trailed 5-3 after the first period.

UCI extended the lead right off the sprint on a power-play goal, but Caleb Francisco scored his first of the day to cut the margin to two with 5:46 left in the quarter. The Anteaters answered right away with Johann Thrall's fourth goal of the match to keep it a three-goal game. Stewart added another one to the scoresheet to shorten the lead, but a missed penalty shot by ToringStanley led to another goal by UC Irvine, who led 8-5 with 3:25 left. The Beach pushed a late run in the quarter to tie the game 8-8 with 11 seconds left in the second, with Francisco scoring on a power play.

Goalkeeper Joe Jenness came off the bench and started the third quarter with a massive penalty shot save, but Thrall added another one for UCI right after to take the lead, 9-8. Two goals by Long Beach State gave them a 10-9 lead, but once again UCI found the back of the net, with Thrall tying the game with two minutes left in the third. Francisco's fourth goal of the game put LBSU ahead once again, 11-10, after three periods.

The Anteaters tied the game early in the fourth, but Konstantinos Kapragkos and O'Donnell gave Long Beach State the first two-goal lead of the game with two minutes left. UCI scored another one, but it was too late for a comeback as the Beach remained perfect in Big West play with a 13-12 win on the road.

Long Beach State will close conference play hosting No. 6 UC Davis on Saturday at Noon at the LBCC Aquatics Complex, with live stats provided through TheFOSH.net.