SANTA BARBARA, Calif. – The No. 9 Long Beach State men’s water polo team fell 13-8 to No. 12 UC Santa Barbara in Big West play at Santa Barbara High School on Saturday afternoon.
Though Long Beach State earned 13 power play opportunities, UC Santa Barbara stopped the Beach on all but two of their extra man advantages. Additionally, the Gauchos posted a .406 shooting clip and held the Beach to a .320 percentage.
UC Santa Barbara (20-9, 2-1 Big West) got the first goal of the afternoon, but Federico Gulisano picked right back up where he left off and quickly put Long Beach State (15-7, 1-2 Big West) on the board to tie the game 1-all. The two teams each added one more goal in the quarter with Zalán Nagy scoring for the Beach.
The Gauchos opened the second period with three-straight goals as they took a 6-3 lead into the break. Harper Stewart netted the lone goal of the quarter for the Beach.
William Whitstone held strong in goal as Artur Diaz and Marc Frigola scored in the third quarter to cut Long Beach State’s deficit to two with eight minutes left to play, 7-5.
UCSB scored the first two goals of the fourth quarter before taking a 12-6 advantage with 2:15 left in the final period. The Beach got a pair of goals in the final minutes but ultimately fell 13-8 to the Gauchos on Saturday afternoon.
OF NOTE
William Whitstone collected nine saves in goal for the Beach.
Marc Frigola and Harper Stewart both scored a pair of goals, while six different Long Beach State players scored in the contest.
The Beach are now 58-52 all-time against the Gauchos.
UP NEXT
Long Beach State heads to California Baptist for a Big West contest on Saturday, October 31. First sprint is set for 12 p.m.