IRVINE, Calif. --- UC Irvine prevailed on Senior Day as the 12th-ranked 'Eaters defeated No. 10 UC Santa Barbara, 9-6, in a Mountain Pacific Sports Federation game at Anteater Aquatics Complex Saturday.
With the victory, UCI improved to 15-11 overall and 2-6 in the MPSF heading into next weekend's MPSF Tournament at Long Beach State. Pairings will be announced Sunday for the tournament, which begins Friday. UCSB dropped to 9-13 on the season and 0-8 in league play.
Sophomore Kyle Trush and freshman Matt Skinner scored two goals each Saturday for the 'Eaters while freshman goalie Byron Rivers had 16 saves.
UCI led 3-2 after one period and 4-3 at the half before the Gauchos tied the game at 5-5 on a goal by Bryan Snyder with 39 seconds left in the third quarter.
Freshman Ryan Warde then countered with 10 seconds remaining in the third to put the 'Eaters up 6-5.
Senior Alan Robertson opened the fourth-quarter scoring on a power-play goal at the 7:19 mark to extend UCI's lead to 7-5.
Cameron Yates scored for the Gauchos with 3:55 left to cut the deficit to 7-6 before Trush scored an extra-man goal with 3:16 remaining and Skinner closed out the scoring at the 1:33 mark to give UCI the three-goal victory.
Prior to the game, Robertson and fellow seniors Michael Bailey, Kyle Kittlitz, Bobby McDonald, Jacob Mourer and Justin Papa were recognized, along with their families.
"We struggled early searching for some offensive rhythm," Anteaters' head coach Marc Hunt said. "Fortunately, our emphasis on defense paid off. We felt that if we could keep them under seven goals, we would win.
"Trush did a good job controlling two-meter defense and Rivers did an excellent job in the cage. Lovre consistently applied counter-attack pressure.
"Strong fourth-quarter goals from Robertson, Trush and Skinner closed out the game. We've been grinding to find fourth-quarter closure. Eight of our 11 losses have been one-goal games in the fourth. Same story today, a one-goal game in the fourth, but we met the challenge this time and closed out like we should.
"The team is maturing and we are looking forward to the MPSF tourney," Hunt added.
UC Santa Barbara 2-1-2-1 --- 6
UC Irvine 3-1-2-3 --- 9
UCSB: Bryan Snyder 2, Kevin Cappon, Samer Alkateb, Chase Racich, Cameron Yates.
UCI: Kyle Trush 2, Matt Skinner 2, Lovre Milos, Larson Pfeil, Jared Osborn, Ryan Warde, Alan Robertson.
Saves: Chris Whitelegge (UCSB) 6; Byron Rivers (UCI) 16.
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