MALIBU — Sophomore Milos Golic scored his fifth goal of the match with just 11 seconds left in the first sudden death overtime, lifting fifth-ranked UCSB to a thrilling 13-12 win over Long Beach State in the consolation bracket of the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Water Polo Tournament in Malibu, on Saturday.
The game was a consummate see-saw event.
After Long Beach State jumped on top 1-0 on a goal by Jake Kinne, the Gauchos rattled off three straight in the first quarter. Jesse Tootell got things started by tying the score 1-1 with 4:50 remaining. A half minute later, it was Miles Price finding the back of the net, giving UCSB a 2-1 edge. Sean Castillo extended the advantage to 3-1 by scoring a goal with just 23 seconds to play in the first.
The 49ers didn’t waste time storming back. Jostin Koeppen notched his first goal of the contest with a mere three ticks remaining on the first period clock. Dane Lindstrom stemmed the Long Beach tide, making it 4-2 Gauchos just 2:40 into the second quarter, but then the 49ers notched four straight.
Pavlee Filipovic, Kinne, and Jeff Greenwood scored goals over the final 4:37 of the second quarter to give Long Beach a 5-4 edge at the half. Filipovic tallied another goal early in the third to make it 6-4, but then it was the Gauchos’ turn to rally.
Golic led an offensive explosion for UCSB, scoring the first of his five goals with 3:57 left in the third. Golic’s goal drew his team within 6-5, but Koeppen responded for Long Beach just 24 seconds later to make it a 7-5 game. Noah Smith’s goal made it 7-6 with 3:09 to play, and then Golic scored again with 2:01 left to tie things at 7-7.
The 49ers reclaimed the lead in the see-saw battle with a goal from Aleksander Petrovic. Just 16 seconds after Petrovic’s goal, Golic scored again to tie it at 8-8.
The score remained tied at eight entering the fourth quarter, and it was Golic again stepping-up for the Gauchos. He scored his fourth to give UCSB a 9-8 edge with 6:16 to play. It gave the sophomore four goals in a span of 5:41. Kinne responded for the 49ers with his third goal, tying it at nine with just under six minutes to play.
The back-and-forth was not over.Stefan Partelow gave Santa Barbara a short-lived 10-9 lead, scoring a goal at the 3:09 mark. Just 15 second later, Long Beach knotted the match again on a score by Ashley Blythen. Daniel Natalizio’s goal with 2:29 to play made it 11-10 Gauchos, but Koeppen’s third goal of the contest tied the score at 11 with 2:07 left. Koeppen’s goal was the last of regulation and the teams went to overtime.
Long Beach scored the only goal of the first three-minute overtime. Kevin Van Haaster gave his team a 12-11 lead with 1:39 left. While UCSB failed to score in the first OT, the Gauchos’ Smith scored his second of the game with 1:45 remaining in the second OT, tying it at 12.
Neither team scored over the final 1:45 and the contest went into sudden death overtime, setting things up for Golic’s heroics with just 11 seconds left in the first sudden death OT period.
Michael Robinson had 14 saves in goal for the Gauchos.
With the win, the Gauchos improve to 16-11 on the season. They will play UC Irvine in the MPSF fifth-place match on Sunday at 1:30 p.m. The Anteaters upset Cal on Saturday morning, 13-12.
UCSB 13, LONG BEACH STATE 12
1 2 3 4 OT1 OT2 SD1 Long Beach 2 3 3 3 1 0 0 — 12 UCSB 3 1 4 3 0 1 1 — 13
Long Beach Goals: (Jake Kinne 3, Justin Koeppen 1, Pavlee Filipovic 2, Jeff Greenwood 1, Jesse Koeppen 2, Aleksander Petrovic 1, Ashley Blythen 1, Kevin Van Haaster)
UCSB Goals: (Jesse Tootell 1, Miles Price 1, Sean Castillo 1, Dane Lindstrom 1, Milos Golic 4, Noah Smith 2,Stefan Partelow 1, Daniel Natalizio 1)
Goalie Saves: Michael Robinson (UCSB) 14, Derk Weibe-Bailey (Long Beach) 7
