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LBSU graduate defender Jason O’Donnell extends out of the pool to take the shot in The Beach’s 11-4 victory over UC Davis at the LBCC Aquatics Center on Saturday, Nov. 8. Rehansa Kulatilleke | Long Beach Current<\/p>\n
No. 9 Long Beach State men\u2019s water polo dominated conference rival No. 8 UC Davis 11-4 in a battle for the regular season title in the Big West on Saturday, Nov. 8 at the Long Beach City College Aquatics Center.<\/p>\n
With the win, LBSU (15-8) finished conference play with a perfect 5-0 record and secured the first seed in the Big West Tournament, starting on Nov. 21.\u00a0<\/p>\n
LBSU had an all-around balanced performance in the match with eight different scorers, and no player with more than two goals.<\/p>\n
The Beach outplayed the Aggies (12-12) on both sides with a shooting percentage of .478, and held the Aggies to a .133 shooting percentage.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re aspiring to play our best water polo,\u201d LBSU head coach Gavin Arroyo<\/a> said. \u201cAs we\u2019re getting closer to the end of the season, for us to get a win like today, that\u2019s really important for morale.\u201d<\/p>\n Sophomore goalie Joe Jenness<\/a> rounded out The Beach\u2019s defensive performance with 12 saves.<\/p>\n \u201cTowards the beginning of the season, we knew we had the guys to beat this team 11-4,\u201d Jenness said. \u201cNow that we\u2019ve all been working together and on the same page, it\u2019s been easy for us.\u201d<\/p>\n The Beach set the tone early with a 4-1 lead in the first period.<\/p>\n LBSU junior attacker Caleb Francisco<\/a> opened the scoring for The Beach at the 6:18 mark, assisted by sophomore utility Artur Diaz<\/a>.<\/p>\n Francisco\u2019s second goal of the game gave The Beach a 2-0 lead.<\/p>\n LBSU junior attacker Caleb Francisco scored the first two goals of The Beach\u2019s 11-4 win over the Aggies on Saturday, Nov. 8. Rehansa Kulatilleke | Long Beach Current<\/p>\n Sophomore attacker Konstantinos Kapragkos<\/a> and senior attacker Sandro Pueyo Caballero<\/a> added two more goals for LBSU on penalty shots.<\/p>\n However, UC Davis scored three unanswered goals at the beginning of the second period to cut the lead to 4-3.<\/p>\n The Beach fired back with three unanswered goals of their own from senior center Alec Johnson<\/a>, sophomore center and reigning Big West Player of the Year Gabi Acosta<\/a> and graduate defender Jason O\u2019Donnell<\/a> to extend the lead to 7-3 at halftime.<\/p>\n Aggies sophomore utility Mateo Ruano<\/a> struck first in the third period, assisted by junior attacker Timothy Kerr<\/a> to cut the lead to 7-4.<\/p>\n Answering right back, LBSU sophomore attacker Oliver Sudar<\/a> found Acosta in front of the net with a perfectly placed pass from the right corner for another LBSU goal, tallying yet another score to Acosta\u2019s tally of 61 goals on the season.\u00a0<\/p>\n LBSU senior attacker Sandro Pueyo Caballero attempts a pass over a UC Davis defender in The Beach\u2019s No. 1 seed clinching victory on Saturday, Nov. 8. Rehansa Kulatilleke | Long Beach Current<\/p>\n With just one game remaining to the regular season, Acosta only trails Cal State Fullerton junior utility Andrew Barnuevo<\/a> with 62 for the conference lead.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201c[Sudar] is a really good lefty that passes me a lot of balls and look a lot for me,\u201d Acosta said. \u201cHe is a really amazing player.\u201d<\/p>\n The Beach went on a 3-0 run to extend the lead to 10-4 before the end of the third period, powered by goals from sophomore center Corbin Stanley<\/a> and O\u2019Donnell\u2019s second strike of the game.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/RKulatilleke_MensWaterpolo-01-scaled.jpg\")
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