Long Beach State University Athletics
Long Beach State University
UC Irvine
Women’s Water Polo Closes Regular Season At Home With Black And Blue Rivalry
3/31/2026 9:00:00 AM | Women's Water Polo
The Beach will face No. 9 UC Irvine on Thursday night and play No. 7 LMU in an exhibition Friday afternoon.
LONG BEACH, Calif. – No. 8 Long Beach State will conclude their regular season at home facing No. 9 UC Irvine on Thursday at 7 p.m. for the last game of Big West play and will also honor their six seniors at the Black and Blue Rivalry Match. On Friday at 3 p.m., the Beach will host No. 7 LMU for an exhibition game.
Long Beach State (14-10, 5-1 Big West) split on the week, falling to No. 4 California at home, 11-6, and dominating No. 25 CSUN on the road, 22-6. Freshman goalkeeper Polina Synytsia combined for 28 saves on the week, collecting 13 against the Golden Bears and 15 against the Matadors. Senior Lucy Miszewski recorded a career-high seven goals in the match against CSUN, while Elisa Portillo added six.
Portillo broke her second program record of the year, surpassing 134 career assists set by Cassie Azevedo to become the all-time leader at LBSU. The senior attacker leads the team with 64 goals, 46 assists, and 28 steals.
Miszewski and Chiara Amoroso follow right behind with 58 and 47 goals, respectively, while Synytsia recorded 180 saves, 15 steals, and five assists in her first season for the Beach so far.
UC Irvine (12-12, 4-2 Big West) brings a five-game winning streak to this Thursday's match. The Anteaters secured wins over Concordia, Cal State Fullerton, No. 21 California Baptist, No. 11 Harvard, and No. 25 CSUN in the past five games. Leading UCI and the Big West is junior Lauren Hett with 65 goals. Hett also leads the team in assists, steals, and field blocks, with 34, 30, and 17, respectively. On defense, Ella Walker adds 117 saves, seven steals, and four assists.
To wrap the regular season, the Beach will host Loyola Marymount (21-4, 6-0 GCC) in an exhibition match on Friday at 3 p.m. The Lions are fresh off their third straight GCC regular season title after defeating No. 21 California Baptist on the road, 14-7. LMU last played at No. 3 UCLA, falling 9-5. Anna Tarantino leads the team with 48 goals, while Sophia DeMattia has a team-high 62 assists. Goalkeeper Madison Searle recorded 156 saves so far in her first year for the Lions.
Ball drops at 7 p.m. for the rematch at the Black and Blue Rivalry Game. Both games will have live stats provided through TheFOSH.net.
