The ninth-ranked 49ers battled hard in their season opener against top-ranked USC, but the highly-touted Trojans overwhelmed the 49ers and came away with a 12-3 win over the Beach at the Long Beach State Campus Pool. The match was standing room only as the 49ers set an attendance record with over 490 people in attendance.

USC has now won 30 straight games since the start of last season. The Trojans were undefeated and won both the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation and national championship a year ago.

No. 9 Long Beach State (0-1) headed into Saturday’s match looking for a dramatic upset over No. 1 USC (1-0). The Trojans were first on the board with a goal from Shea Buckner. Peter Kurzeka and Justin Rappel each added goals for USC and the 49ers trailed 3-0 after the first.

USC scored another two goals early in the second period to take a 5-0 lead. A shot from sophomore Shane Luth at 5:28 in the second period gave the Beach their first goal of the game. USC scored another four goals to take a 9-1 halftime lead.

In the third period, the Trojans scored first yet again, but junior Alexsandr Petrovic notched his first goal of the season with 6:50 remaining in the third period. The Trojans scored their final two goals in the latter-half of the third period to take a 12-2 lead. Rappel and Matthew Burton led all scorers with three goals apiece.

Senior Kevin Mundia finished off the scoring for the Beach with a beautiful goal in the fourth period. Senior goalkeeper Derek Wiebe-Bailey had a game-high seven saves. Wiebe-Bailey set the Long Beach State all-time mark for saves last season with 282.

Up next for the Beach is the annual Alumni game. The 49ers and alumni will face off Sunday, September 13, at 12:00 p.m. PT.

From LBSU reports