Cal State Fullerton men’s water polo suffered a devastating 20-7 loss against rival No. 10 Long Beach State, marking the Titans’ eighth loss this season when held in the single digits.

The shooting battle was close between the two teams, with the Beach winning 28-24. However, only seven of the Titans’ 24 attempts resulted in goals.

“It’s a really good freaking team – it takes a lot for us to create opportunities, and anytime we didn’t do 4, 5, 6 things correctly in a row, we’re in trouble,” said Head Coach Kyle Witt.

The Titans were quick to get into offensive position, but the Beach’s tight-knit defense made it a tough night for them to execute. The Titans committed six total turnovers in the first quarter, with two of them resulting in goals for the Beach.

Despite the rough outing on offense, the Titans were only down two scores coming into the second. Every offensive opportunity for CSUF was crucial – constant passing to set up positions and communication were what the Titans needed to get back on their heels against the Beach. The constant turnovers and failed shot attempts would come back to bite the Titans as they went into half down 8-3.

The second half put the nail in the coffin for the Titans, as they were outscored 2-6 in the third and fourth quarters, allowing two 5-0 scoring runs.

“We can’t simulate that level of defense they play in our training, so we have to get so much better in the game,” Witt said. “We put in a lot of our bench players in the fourth to try and get them their opportunities and have them learn the level of play we have to play at every day.”

The tensions rose all second half, as Witt was also issued a yellow card towards the end of the third quarter.

The Titans’ three-game streak of having at least one player score a hat trick came to an end, as each player who scored remained under three goals. Meanwhile, the Beach’s Marc Frigola Navarro knocked in his fourth hat trick of the season.

Another key issue the Titans could not overcome was the power-play opportunities. The Titans went 3-for-12, failing to execute when strength of numbers could have benefited them.

The only positive the Titans had over the Beach was winning the sprint battle 3-1.

The 17-10 Titans will continue to seek their first-ever Big West victory as they host California Baptist University for their second matchup of the season.

The first sprint is set for 6 p.m.