LA JOLLA, Calif. - The 9th-ranked UC San Diego men's water
polo team dropped a narrow 6-5 decision at home Friday night to 8th-ranked Long
Beach State in front of 1,136 fans.
The Tritons fall to 9-7 overall on the season while the
49ers improve to 7-6. The result snaps UCSD's three-match winning streak.
In the first quarter, LBSU jumped out to a 1-0 lead with just under two minutes
played. Senior Patrick van der Linde hit the upper left corner of the net with
a shot past UCSD goalkeeper David Morton. The Tritons rallied back to tie the
match when Ryan Allred, who had already hit the crossbar earlier in the quarter,
fired a shot past 49ers' netminder Matt Kubeck with about two minutes remaining
in the period. As Allred let go of the ball, the LBSU defense was scrambling
back into formation after going back to full strength following an ejection.
The second quarter progressed similarly to the first, with the 49ers taking a
2-1 advantage on a hard shot from van der Linde that Morton stopped on the line
before the ball trickled across for the score. UCSD sophomore Brian Donohoe
struck for his first goal of the match roughly five minutes into the second
period, tossing in a long shot from the top of the formation during a power
play to even the score at 2-2. Less than 19 seconds after Donohoe's goal, the
visiting LBSU squad took the lead again when Carter Taylor fired in a shot from
the right side up close.
With the 49ers holding the 3-2 lead at intermission, the two squads traded
scores again in the third period. Taylor struck again early in the quarter but
John Butler found the back of the net for the Tritons to push it back to a
one-goal game. LBSU came out firing in the fourth, with Alexsandr Petrovic and
Nick Rascon registering scores in the first minute of the period to help the
49ers take a 6-3 lead.
The Tritons weren't done just yet though, as Kevin Driscoll tallied a score
with 3:51 to play and Donohoe capitalized on a fast break off a LBSU turnover
with 1:29 left in regulation. Down 6-5, UCSD ended up getting the ball back
with 45 seconds to go but an offensive turnover delivered the ball back to the
49ers as the clock ticked down to zero. Morton ended the match with nine saves,
while Kubeck picked up 13 stops.
The Tritons will return to action next weekend when they travel to play No. 11 UC
Davis and No. 12 Santa Clara. The next home match for UCSD will be on Oct. 23 at 2 p.m. against Loyola Marymount.
