From Reports By Long Beach State Sports Information Department

Long Beach State scored the first goal against the No. 18 Pacific Tigers on Sunday afternoon just 31 seconds into the match, and the tenth-ranked 49ers never looked back. With the 13-6 victory, the Beach secured itself a spot in the MPSF Conference Tournament Thanksgiving weekend.

Today’s game was an important one for both Long Beach State (13-15, 1-5) and Pacific (10-19, 0-7), as both squads had yet to win an MPSF Conference game. LBSU came out strong with a goal from Pavle Filipovic after only half a minute of play. It was a lead the 49ers would not relinquish. The second goal of the game came from junior Jeff Greenwood, currently the 49ers’ leading scorer. LBSU notched two more goals in the period and allowed two from Pacific; the Beach took a 4-2 lead into the second quarter.

The first goal of the second period came almost as easily as it did in the first for the 49ers; another Filipovic score put the Beach up 5-2 with 7:16 still on the clock. The Tigers narrowed the 49er lead to 2 with a shot from Evan Garcia, but that was as close as Pacific would get. LBSU went on a 3-1 run, including Kevin Mundia’s second goal of the game, and the Beach went into halftime with an 8-4 lead.

Long Beach was able to hold Pacific to only two more goals for the rest of the game, while notching five more of their own. Junior goalie George Alberson entered the game in the fourth quarter in relief of Derek Wiebe-Bailey, who saved nine goal attempts. Alberson let in only one, and tabbed four goal saves in the fourth period.

With the win this afternoon, Long Beach State guaranteed itself a spot in the MPSF Conference Tournament, which will take place November 28-30 in Pepperdine, Calif.

First, though, the 49ers face another tough opponent in ninth-ranked UC Irvine next weekend. The game is set to begin at 12:00 p.m. PT on Saturday, November 22nd at the 49er Pool on the campus of Long Beach State.