Men’s Water Polo Suffers Two Losses On Day Two Of The Overnght MPSF Invite

Saturday, September 20

Los Angeles, Calif.

9:30 a.m.

Long Beach State University

8-3

Stanford

7-0

Long Beach State

Stanford (M)

Men’s Water Polo Suffers Two Losses On Day Two Of The Overnght MPSF Invite

9/20/2025 4:24:00 PM | Men's Water Polo

Box Score 1 Box Score 2

Caleb Francisco tied a career-high of six goals against No. 4 Stanford.

By: Luiza Moraes - Athletic Communication Assistant

LOS ANGELES, Calif. – On the second day of the Overnght MPSF Invite, Long Beach State battled with No. 4 Stanford, losing in overtime, 19-16, and struggled to control No. 11 UC Davis, dropping their second game of the day, 15-11.

Down by four with three minutes left in regulation, No. 7 Long Beach State (8-4) pushed a 4-0 run to tie the game against No. 4 Stanford (7-0) in the final second with sophomore Gabi Acosta.

The Beach got the game rolling with sophomore Oliver Sudar adding one on a power play and Caleb Francisco scoring his first of the day. The Cardinal found the back of the net for the first time to shorten the gap, but Francisco's back-to-back goals opened a 4-1 lead in favor of the Beach. Stanford answered back, and senior Sandro Pueyo kept LBSU up by three after the first period.

Early in the second period, Stanford scored one to trail the Beach, 5-3. Francisco's fourth goal of the game and Toring Stanley's score opened a 7-3 lead in the middle of the second. The Cardinal pushed a six-goal run to take control of the game until the fourth quarter.

Late in the fourth, sophomore Harper Stewart scored on a power play to lead a four-goal run by the Beach with Toring Stanley adding two and Acosta scoring the tying goal on a 7-on-6 play.

During overtime, Stanford found the groove early and controlled the two quarters to take a thrilling win over the Beach, 19-16. Francisco tied a career high of six goals to lead the team in the first game of the day, and William Whitstone recorded eight saves.

After facing the Cardinal, the Beach had a quick turnaround and faced their first Big West opponent as they dropped their second game of the day against No. 11 UC Davis, 15-11.

The Aggies (5-5) quickly got one past the Beach defense to start the game. Sandro Pueyo tied the game on a penalty shot as both teams traded goals before UCD added two in a row to open a small lead over LBSU after the first eight minutes, 5-3.

At the start of the second, Long Beach tied the game at five after Marc Frigola and Caleb Francisco both added to the scoresheet. The Aggies responded with two of their own before Zalan Nagy closed the margin, and the Beach trailed 7-6 at halftime.

Oliver Sudar scored on a counterattack to tie the game once again, but the Aggies always found a way to answer and kept the lead at 10-8 before a late goal from Gabi Acosta shortened the gap after three periods.

Four unanswered goals by the Aggies dictated the pace of the fourth quarter. Nagy and Jason O'Donnell both added, but it was too late for the Beach to push their own run. Joe Jenness recorded a career high of 12 saves as LBSU dropped a 15-11 match against UC Davis.

The Overnght MPSF Invite concludes tomorrow as Long Beach State will play for seventh place against the loser of UC San Diego and Loyola Marymount. First sprint is scheduled for 10 a.m. at the Spieker Aquatics Center, with live stream provided through overnght.com and live stats on 6-8scores.com.