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IRVINE, Calif. \u2014 A late rally came up short for the UC San Diego men’s water polo team as it fell by an 11-8 score to Long Beach State Saturday in a Big West Championship semifinal.<\/p>\n
The Tritons (21-10) came in as the fourth seed while Long Beach State (17-8) is the top seed.<\/p>\n
In Saturday’s second semifinal, third-seeded UC Davis topped UC Santa Barbara, the second seed, 15-7.<\/p>\n
Long Beach State and UC Davis face off Sunday for the conference title and automatic berth in the upcoming NCAA National Collegiate Championship.<\/p>\n
UC Irvine is hosting the Big West Championship at Anteater Aquatics Complex in Orange County. \n<\/p>\n
HOW IT HAPPENED A five-meter penalty shot conversion at 2:48 of the first kicked off a five-goal run for the Beach, which pushed its lead to 6-2 with 1:29 remaining in the second quarter.<\/p>\n The third frame saw a repeat of the second as Long Beach State again out-scored UC San Diego 3-1. A goal by\u00a0Marc Frigola at the two-minute mark of the third put the Beach up 9-3, with the six-point lead its largest of the game.<\/p>\n The Tritons responded, scoring the game’s next four goals to get back within two. Reef Lippa<\/a> ignited the flame by scoring with just four ticks left in the third. In the final stanza, Lucas Romaguera<\/a> scored at 4:37 and was followed at 3:46 when Lippa found the back of the net again. With 2:36 remaining in the fourth, Mark Laurlund<\/a> beat the goalie to bring the Tritons within a deuce at 9-7.<\/p>\n Harper Stewart put the Beach ahead by three at 1:57, but that was quickly answered by Mason Presley<\/a> at 1:19 to keep UC San Diego within striking distance at 10-8. However, Acosta tallied his fourth goal of the game with only 55 ticks on the clock, essentially sealing the victory for Long Beach State.<\/p>\n
\nJackson Boettner<\/a> scored the first goal of the game just 57 seconds in to give UC San Diego an early lead. Long Beach State’s Gabi Acosta evened it with a power play goal at the 3:33 mark of the opening quarter, but Ante Buzov<\/a> returned the favor by scoring on a man-up opportunity 26 seconds laters to put the Tritons back in front, 2-1. That would prove to be the final lead for UC San Diego.<\/p>\n