LONG BEACH, Calif. – The Pacific men's water polo team fell short of securing the program's third-consecutive Golden Coast Conference (GCC) Title with its 10-6 loss to Long Beach State on Sunday afternoon at the Ken Lindgren Aquatics Center.
The Tigers and 49ers were tied through the first half, but Long Beach State's offense made a final push in the second half to out-score Pacific, 6-2, and claim the conference's NCAA automatic bid to the Men's Water Polo Championship Tournament.
Pacific's season will come to a close after garnering it's second consecutive conference title and third straight GCC Championship appearance. The Tigers end the year with an overall of 11-12.
In Case You Missed It
- The two squads were tied through the first half, each scoring three goals in the first period and one goal in the second period.
- Consecutive goals by Luke Pavillard and Luis Araya to close out the third period and open the fourth put the Tigers down just one goal with just four minutes remaining in the match.
- Long Beach State scored a goal in three of the final four minutes to go home with the 10-6 victory.
- Araya and Pavillard would both lead the way for UOP tallying two goals a piece in the match.
First Period:
- Long Beach was on the board quick, scoring it's first goal in the first two minutes of play. Luke Pavillard answered back for the Tigers at 3:47 with his first goal of the contest.
- The rest of the period was a seesaw battle with both teams scoring two more goals. Scoring for the Tigers were Araya (2:27) and Andrea De Nardi (1:50).
Second Period:
- Pavillard put the Tigers in a position to score in the second period, but it was not until the two minutes to go that the Tigers were able to claim its first lead of the game.
- Pacific took the 4-3 lead off a throw in goal by junior Engin Ege Colak (1:50).
- With just 00:39 remaining in the half, Long Beach State's Troy Kaltenbach equalized the score once more at 4 a-piece.
Third Period:
- The 49ers kept their momentum into the third period, scoring three-consecutive goals to take its largest lead of the match, 7-4.
- Luke Pavillard diminished the 49ers lead with his second and final goal with 00:51 remaining in the period.
Fourth Period:
- Winning the sprint for the fourth time in the match was Pacific and with that the Tigers were able to battle back within one goal after Araya scored his second goal of the game at 4:04.
- The Tigers would be held scoreless after that point, however, having five opportunities to score but not being able to find the back of the cage.
- Long Beach State went on to score three-straight again to secure the 10-6 victory.
Notables:
- The two keepers, John Hedges and Marwin Darwish, matched save-for-save, each totaling nine on the day. Hedges held the edge in steals, 4-2.
- The Tigers out-shot the 49ers 32-27 with Colak and Araya each totaling a team-high eight shots.
- All-American Luke Pavillard was held to just six shots on the afternoon.
- The Tigers drew 11 exclusions but converted just 1-11 on powerplay opportunities proving to be the difference maker compared to Long Beach's 4-7 powerplays.
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