Oct. 16, 1997
No. 2 Ranked Bears Defeat Long Beach State
PLEASANT HILL, Calif. -- The No. 2 ranked California men's water polo team defeated No. 11 ranked Long Beach State, 19-8, Thursday in a Mountain Pacific Sports Federation match at Diablo Valley College in Pleasant Hill. The Bears boost their record to 10-2 (4-1 in Mountain Pacific Sports Federation), while the 49ers fall to 5-9 overall (1-4 in conference play).
Cal's Ryan Flynn scored a goal with 1:55 left in the first period to break a 3-3 tie and the Bears went on to outscore Long Beach State, 7-3, in the second period on the way to the 19-8 win. Both Flynn and Phinney Gardner scored four goals apiece for Cal.
Other top scorers for the Bears included three points apiece by Jerry Smith and Peter Stern. Stern scored a two-pointer with four seconds left in the first half and then scored another goal towards the end of the third period. Smith tallied all of his goals in the third and fourth periods. The leading scorer for Long Beach State was Matthew Sakatani, whose two-point shot with 5:36 in the first period gave the 49ers their only lead of the match.
The Bears will next host Massachusetts, Friday, Oct. 17 at 5 p.m. at Diablo Valley College.
Long Beach State 3 3 1 1 --8
California 4 7 4 4 --19
Long Beach State: Sakatani 2 (two-point goal), Colyer 1, Gendron 1, Martindale 1, Pearce 1, Scogin 1, Tilton 1.
California: Flynn 4, Gardner 4, Smith 3, Stern 3 (one, two-point goal), Kittredge 2, Ross 2, Feaver 1.
Saves: Kiefer 7 (Cal), Carter 5 (Long Beach State).
Records: California 10-2 (4-1), Long Beach State 5-9 (1-4).
