LBSU junior attacker Caleb Francisco passes the ball across the pool in The Beach’s semifinal win over UC San Diego on Saturday, Nov. 22 at UC Irvine. Rehansa Kulatilleke | Long Beach Current
IRVINE, Calif. – In a rematch of last year’s championship final, No. 7 Long Beach State men’s water polo advanced past the semifinals of the Big West Tournament with an 11-8 win over No. 13 UC San Diego at the Anteater Aquatics Complex at UC Irvine on Saturday, Nov. 22.
Ahead of the start of the postseason, LBSU head coach Gavin Arroyo made it known he saw the No. 4 seed Tritons as a major threat to take the conference crown.
“UC San Diego could easily win this tournament,” Arroyo told the Current.
On Saturday, it was clear the No. 1 seeded The Beach did not look past their semifinal opponent, taking a commanding 9-3 lead late before the Tritons managed a brief run that was too little, too late.
“I’m super proud,” Arroyo said. “We started off kind of shaky, and then we kind of hit our rhythm.”
LBSU head coach Gavin Arroyo rallies his team, as The Beach advanced to the Big West Championship Final with a win on Saturday over UC San Diego. Rehansa Kulatilleke | Long Beach Current
In the game’s first minute, freshman Triton attacker Jackson Boettner momentarily silenced the visiting Beach fans, finding the back of the net to give UCSD a 1-0 lead.
However, it became clear early that UCSD could not defend LBSU’s potent offensive attack without fouling, as The Beach drew seven exclusions in the first quarter and a yellow card from Triton senior utility Ante Buzov.
LBSU’s star sophomore center Gabi Acosta shot wide on a power play opportunity at the midway point of the period, but made up for it on another six-on-five opportunity for The Beach’s first score of the game.
“I tried to prepare myself mentally 100% and go all out,” Acosta said. “I started pretty bad, missing shots, but then I kept working, the team kept passing me the ball and I started scoring.”
Following a UCSD goal from Buzov, LBSU added two more scores, one on a penalty strike down the middle from senior attacker Sandro Pueyo Caballero, to finish the first quarter with a 3-2 advantage.
The final Big West Player of the Week of this season, LBSU sophomore attacker Harper Stewart made his presence felt offensively in the second quarter, assisting two Beach goals to take a 5-2 lead.
With just over a minute in the period, Acosta showed exactly why he is the reigning Big West Player of the Year.
With seconds remaining on the shot clock, Acosta received a pass with his back to the basket, but fired a no-look backhand through the left side of the goal to beat the buzzer for his second score of the day.
“I had the right position in the center and [sophomore center Corbin Stanley] threw me the ball and I just tried to score however I can and it went in, so that was nice,” Acosta said.
LBSU sophomore star center Gabi Acosta scored four goals in The Beach’s semifinal win over UC San Diego on Saturday, Nov. 22 at UC Irvine. Rehansa Kulatilleke | Long Beach Current
After giving up two quick goals in the first, LBSU sophomore goalkeeper Joe Jenness tightened up with four saves in the half, allowing just one score in the final seconds to end the half up 6-3.
Jenness finished the match with a whopping 14 saves on a .636 save percentage in the victory.
“This is my first game in the Big West Tournament, so I think I needed to just settle in a little bit and trust my skills,” Jenness said.
The Beach began to pour it on in the second half, extending its lead to 9-3 with a trio of scores from Stanley, Acosta and junior utility Marc Frigola Navarro.
UCSD once again scored in the final seconds of a quarter to cut the deficit to five heading into the fourth by way of a goal from redshirt junior attacker Reef Lippa, sparking a major run for the Tritons.
LBSU was dominated for the majority of the fourth, as UCSD caught fire with a 4-0 run to come within two scores.
The Beach’s offense looked out of sorts for the majority of the final quarter, but a much-needed strike from Stewart rendered the Tritons’ late run futile, putting LBSU up 10-7.
“We run through scenarios playing with a lead,” Jenness said. “We let them get on a run, but we controlled ourselves, we knew the whole time we had control over what we do.”
After a final score from UCSD, Acosta put a bow on the semifinal matchup with his fourth goal of the contest to end the Tritons’ season.
LBSU senior driver Itai Roth defends a pass, as The Beach hung on to defeat UC San Diego and advance to the Big West Tournament Final at UC Irvine. Rehansa Kulatilleke | Long Beach Current
Along with Acosta’s four scores, seven Beach players found the back of the net in the win, with Stewart scoring a tied team-high points with one goal and three assists.
On Sunday, LBSU will look to repeat as conference champions, facing the winner of the semifinal matchup between No. 8 UC Davis and No. 12 UC Santa Barbara.