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The Long Beach State men’s water polo season came to an end on Thursday afternoon in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament at UCLA. LBSU lost to UC Davis 9-8 in overtime.
Rafael Real Vergara scored four goals for the Beach, but LBSU never led as UC Davis took an early 1-0 lead in the first goal with a exclusion goal from Nic Gross.
The game was tied twice before the Aggies took a lead, then Garrett Zaan scored his 100th career goal and Alika Naone score to knot the game at 5-5 with 3:44 remaining in the third.
Both teams battled down the stretch as Vergara scored in the fourth to finish regulation in an 8-8 tie. In overtime, Holden Neach scored the go-ahead go in the first overtime period.
Goalkeepers Andrej Bosanac and UC Davis’s Aaron Wilson both finished with 14 saves.
This is the second NCAA Tournament appearance for LBSU in the last three seasons.
