California
Long Beach State
11/15/2008 12:00 PM | Men's Water Polo
Nov. 15, 2008
LONG BEACH, CALIF. -
The No. 4 ranked Cal men's water polo team (16-6, 2-3), behind a goal from sophomore Brian Dudley in sudden death overtime, defeated No. 10 Long Beach State, 11-10, in a MPSF Conference men's collegiate water polo game in Long Beach on Saturday afternoon.
Long Beach State started things off with a floating lob goal, but the Bears quickly answered with a 6-on-5 goal. Half a minute later, the 49ers earned a 5-meter shot and were able to convert, to take a 2-1 lead. The Bears took control of the rest of the period, scoring two more goals, and the first period ended with a California 3-2 lead.
The 49ers started the second period off with two goals and held lead 4-3, until the Bears were able to tie the game again with 1:52 left in the half. With the game tied 4-4 the squads headed into halftime.
The third period went the way of Long Beach State as they scored the first three goals of the period to take a 7-4 lead. Cal scored the final goal of the period to trail 7-5 entering the fourth period. The 49ers seemed to be on a roll when Kevin vanHaaster scored first in the fourth period, but the momentum quickly shifted to the Bears, who found themselves trailing 8-5. With two California goals in a row, Long Beach State's lead was down to one. A 49er ejection with under a minute left to play put the Bears in a 6-on-5 advantage, and they took the opportunity, scoring with only 0:39 seconds left in the game.
The squads swapped goals in the first overtime. Cal was able to score first, but Long Beach State answered with only seconds left on the clock to force a second three-minute overtime. The teams' defenses were on the mark in the second overtime period, but a California ejection allowed the 49ers to go ahead 10-9 with only 0:16 seconds left. Cal would not go down without a fight, however, and scored a goal of their own 5 seconds later, and once again the teams were tied at the end of the period. Sudden death was a tough battle for both squads, but Cal sophomore Brian Dudley was able to score first, and the fourth-ranked Bears took the 11-10 victory over the Beach.
"Well we keep it interesting," said Cal Coach Kirk Everist. "Long Beach really played well and we were not able to penetrate their Defense until late in the game. It was a great comeback but we have to find a way to play more consistent. Dudley and Calder stepped up when we needed it most."
Cal next plays No. 9 UC Irvine Sunday at 12 p.m. in Irvine.
CALIFORNIA 17, LONG BEACH STATE 6
No. 12 Long Beach State 2 2 3 1 1 1 0 - 10
No. 4 California 3 1 1 3 1 1 1 - 11
Goals 4 dudley 3 calder 1 saponjic reynolds nasoff warden
Assists 2 saponjic rackov warden steffens 1 dudley
Steals 2 saponjic nasoff dudley 1 warden calder
Ejections Earned 3 Saponjic 1 dudley white pearson steffens greenwood
Field Block 2 calder 1 warden pearson steffens
Sprints Won 5 Rackov
Goalie (all game)
Saves 8
Assists 1
Steals 2
Team Stats:
6 on 5 3 for 7
5 man 1 for 6
