The first matchup came in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Invitational <\/a>on Sept. 20, in a 15-11 LBSU loss that did count towards conference play. <\/p>\n The second installment on Nov. 8 ended in a 11-4 dominant win for The Beach to claim the Big West regular season title<\/a>.<\/p>\n After running through their conference schedule undefeated in their quest to win back-to-back conference championships, The Beach fell just one goal short in their rubber match with the Aggies.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s definitely a difficult feeling,\u201d assistant coach Austin Ringheim<\/a> said. \u201cWe had really high expectations for this group and to fall just a little bit short is always not ideal.\u201d<\/p>\n LBSU graduate defender Jason O\u2019Donnell looks to score during The Beach\u2019s 12-11 loss to UC Davis in the Big West Tournament final at UC Irvine on Sunday, Nov. 23. Rehansa Kulatilleke | Long Beach Current<\/p>\n The Beach got off on the wrong foot early, as The Aggies scored the first two goals of the game in the opening minutes.<\/p>\n The fourth ranked scorer in goals per game in the Big West, LBSU junior attacker Caleb Francisco<\/a> got The Beach on the board first, as they would go on to tie it at 2-2.<\/p>\n However, UC Davis remained strong defensively through the first period, limiting LBSU to two scores while Davis sophomore attacker Thomas Kiesling<\/a> scored two of his own to put the Aggies ahead 4-2 after the first quarter.<\/p>\n Entering the second quarter, the Aggies extended their run to 3-0 quickly.\u00a0<\/p>\n The Beach managed a brief 2-1 run after star sophomore center and reigning Big West Player of the Year Gabi Acosta\u2019s<\/a> first goal of the game, and headed into the half down 6-4.\u00a0<\/p>\n Coming out of the break, the Aggies drew first blood with the second strike of the day from freshman attacker Oriol Vi\u00f1as<\/a>.<\/p>\n UC Davis maintained its lead through a tightly-contested third quarter, as Kiesling made it a hat trick with his third goal of the day while Acosta added another score, with the Aggies taking a 9-7 lead into the final quarter.<\/p>\n Sophomore attacker Konstantinos Kapragkos <\/a>scored his second goal on a powerplay to bring it within one score to open the fourth.<\/p>\n However, UC Davis continued to stuff out any possible momentum for LBSU, as Irvine local and sophomore attacker\/utility Oleg Shatskikh<\/a> scored his second goal of the game to put the Aggies up 11-8.\u00a0<\/p>\n In the final two minutes, a late flurry of goals from Francisco, Acosta and sophomore attacker Harper Stewart<\/a> gave The Beach a chance to win at all, bringing the score to 12-11.\u00a0<\/p>\n LBSU senior attacker Toring Stanley passes the ball up the pool as The Beach come up one goal short of repeating as Big West champions on Sunday, Nov. 23 at UC Irvine. Rehansa Kulatilleke | Long Beach Current<\/p>\n \u201cWe were trying to fight to get our goals and to make sure that we put our team in the best position possible,\u201d Ringheim said.<\/p>\n However, it was not enough, as after a shot from Francisco sailed past the cage, the Aggies wound down the last 1:21 remaining on the clock to be crowned Big West champions.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/RKulatilleke_11-23-2025_Mens-Waterpolo-Tournament-Finals-03-scaled.jpg\")
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