Report by LBSU
Lauren Sieprath scored a game-high two goals to lead the Long Beach State women’s water polo team in defeat against No. 16 Pacific in a very physical Big West Conference match Sunday at the 49er Campus Pool.
In their final Big West Conference home game, the 49ers (7-18, 0-3) faced off against Big West rival Pacific (20-8, 2-0), for the first time this season in a hotly contested game that had four tie scores and three lead changes between the two teams before the 49ers eventually succumbed, 6-5, to the Tigers.
The 49ers jumped out early on the visiting Tigers scoring three goals in the first four minutes of play. Miranda Furuto scored the first goal for The Beach, while Lauren Sieprath added the next two goals to give The Beach a 3-2 lead at the end of the first period. Sieprath scored three goals in two games for The Beach at home this weekend and ranks second on the team with 31 goals scored this season.
The 49ers had plenty of chances to break open the game in the first and second periods but failed to convert on three five meter penalty shots and Pacific scored the only two goals of the second period to take a, 4-3, halftime lead.
The teams were evenly matched in the third and fourth periods as the squads swapped goals; Katie Rogers scored her first goal of the game on a shot that caromed off the bar into the net tying the score at 4-4 and Krizia Cerda added her first goal to tie the game 5-5 early in the fourth quarter.
Pacific’s Bridget Geck scored a goal just a minute later and the Tigers held on, despite a ferocious effort by The Beach, at the end for the win.
Goalie Kristen Stragier recorded 11 saves in the match for the 49ers while Tiger goalie Brooke Miller had 13 saves.
The 49ers get ready for another tough match on the road next Thursday night April 15 against No. 13 UC Irvine in their Big West finale. The 49ers the return home for their final home game next Saturday against Cal State Bakersfield. Join the Beach as they take on the Roadrunners on April 17, at noon at the 49er Campus Pool.
Scores by Period:
PACIFIC: 2 – 2 – 1 – 1 — 6
LBSU: 3 – 0 – 1 – 1 — 5
LBSU GOALS: Sieprath -2, Cerda, Rogers, Furuto.
PACIFIC GOALS: Geck -2, Collette, Biehle, Tawarahara, Myles.
LBSU GOALIE SAVES: Stragier 11.