Report by LBSU
The No. 8 Long Beach State 49er water polo team faces off against two of the top teams in the nation in No. 3 Stanford on Saturday and No. 2 Cal on Sunday at noon at the 49er Campus Pool.
LAST WEEK: The 49ers hosted No. 11 UCSD at the 49er Campus Pool on Friday beating the Tritons, 7-6. The Beach were led by goalie Derek Wiebe-Bailey who recorded a game-high 16 saves and allowed just two goals through the first three periods. Alexsandr Petrovic led the 49er scoring with two goals and has scored 27 goals this season, his first for The Beach. On Sunday, the 49ers hosted the No. 4 Bruins of UCLA and were unable to overcome an outstanding effort from UCLA goalie Chay Lapin who recorded a MPSF season-high 21 saves to lead the Bruins to a, 9-3, victory over The Beach. Jeff Greenwood, Taylor Clute, and Jordan Koeppen scored goals for The Beach.
WHERE THEY RANK: Senior Derek Wiebe-Bailey ranks second on the MPSF goalie saves list averaging 9.18 saves a game while senior Jeff Greenwood ranks ninth on the MPSF goals scored list averaging 1.65 goals a game. Sophomore Alexsandr Petrovic is twelfth and the only other 49er on the MPSF list averaging 1.59 goals a game.
THIS WEEK: No. 8 Long Beach State (8-9, 1-4) will face the No. 2 Cardinal of Stanford (16-1, 4-0) Saturday afternoon at 12 p.m. at the 49er Campus Pool. The 49ers will then take on No. 3 Cal (15-4, 3-1) on Sunday afternoon at 12 p.m. also at the 49er Campus Pool. The 49ers are 1-8 against opponents ranked higher than The Beach this season, but are looking to change that stat this weekend. The Beach face a Cardinal team that has won its last five games and a Cal team that has won its last four games.
SCOUTING STANFORD: The No. 3 Cardinal (16-1, 4-0) are undefeated in MPSF Conference play, and has only lost to rival Cal this season. Stanford is led by senior Drac Wigo who has scored 43 goals and is the MPSF leader for goals scored and senior goalie Jimmie Sandman who ranks third on the MPSF goalie saves list.
SCOUTING CAL: The No. 2 Bears (15-4, 3-1) defeated UC Irvine last Saturday, 13-10, and also beat UC Davis, 11-4, on Sunday. Cal has only lost to No. 1 USC and No. 3 Stanford this season. The Bears are led by sophomore Ivan Rackov who has scored 39 goals and is ranked fifth on the MPSF goals scored list and sophomore goalie Wil Toppen who ranks fourth on the MPSF goalie saves list. Long Beach State head coach Gavin Arroyo was a first-team All-American at Cal in 1993, and helped the Bears to three National Championships in his time there.
GAME TIMES: Saturday and Sunday’s matchups both start at 12:00 p.m. PT. All of this weekend’s matches will be held at the 49er Pool, on the campus of Long Beach State.