BERKELEY, Calif. — Facing its third top-10 opponent in two days, the No. 7-ranked UC Davis men's water polo team wrapped up play at the 2021 MPSF Invitational with an 18-10 loss to No. 6 Long Beach State in the seventh-place match on Sunday morning at the Spieker Aquatic Complex.
The Aggies finished 1-3 in the tournament and moved to 8-5 overall on the year, facing a quartet of top-10 programs in No. 9 UC San Diego, No. 2 USC, No. 5 UC Santa Barbara, and The Beach, during the weekend.
Ben Fleming,
Nir Gross, and
Michael Plastino, each finished with a pair of goals each, while
Logan Anderson,
Aleix Aznar Beltran,
Levi Murtaugh, and
Hal Goulter, also found the back of the card. Anderson added a pair of assists for a three-point day.
Long Beach State jumped out quickly, scoring the first four goals of the match and led 9-3 at the break as Gross and Aznar Beltran each scored on 5-meter attempts and Goulter added his first at the 2:03 mark of the second quarter for the Aggie goals.
The Beach, which shot .692 for the match and finished 8-for-15 with a man advantage, opened the second half with four of the first five scores with UC Davis' best offensive quarter coming in the fourth, scoring four times — two of those off the hands of Fleming.
With the tournament portion of the season behind them, the Aggies return to the pool on Oct. 7-8, opening Western Water Polo Association play with a pair of matches on the road. UC Davis opens against California Baptist on Oct. 7 under the lights at 7 p.m. in Riverside, Calif., before traveling to Concordia on Oct. 8 at 1:30 p.m. in Irvine, Calif.
NCAA MEN'S WATER POLO
#6 LONG BEACH STATE 18, #7 UC DAVIS 10
Spieker Aquatic Complex • Berkeley, Calif.
UCD — 1-2-3-4—10
LBSU – 4-5-5-4—18
LBSU GOALS: Theodoros Pateros 3, Garrett Zaan 3, Matt Morris 3, Evan Cain 2, JJ Loubriel 2, Connor Mannion 1, Rafael Real Vergara 1, Riley Catino 1, Garrett Potter 1, Aaron Arias 1
UC DAVIS GOALS: Ben Fleming 2,
Nir Gross 2,
Michael Plastino 2,
Logan Anderson 1,
Aleix Aznar Beltran 1,
Levi Murtaugh 1,
Hal Goulter 1
UC DAVIS SAVES: Aaron Wilson (16:00) 0,
Duncan Creed (16:00) 2
ABOUT UC DAVIS
Centrally located between San Francisco and Lake Tahoe, over 700 student-athletes across 25 teams enjoy an unrivaled undergraduate experience at the fifth-ranked public school in the country.
Ranked annually in the nation's top 10 in diversity and students' social mobility, UC Davis and its innovative Aggie EVO System helps student-athletes develop passions, connect with a comprehensive network of alums and industry leaders, gain real-world experience and thrive as a young professional following a successful launch to full-time employment or graduate school.
