No. 6 UC Irvine (10-4, 1-0 GCC) at
No. 5 Pacific (12-3, 1-0 GCC)
Date: Friday, Oct. 13
Time: 7 p.m. (PDT)
Location: Chris Kjeldsen Pool - Stockton, Calif.
Watch // Live Stats

No. 6 UC Irvine (10-4, 1-0 GCC) at
No. 3 Cal (13-1, 0-0 MPSF)
Date: Saturday, Oct. 14
Time: 1 p.m. (PDT)
Location: Spieker Aquatics Complex - Berkeley, Calif.

THIS WEEK
The sixth-ranked UC Irvine men's water polo team begins a four-game road stretch this weekend as it heads to Northern California for a pair of contests against top-five opponents. The Anteaters start with a trip to Stockton for a Golden Coast Conference match at No. 5 Pacific on Friday, Oct. 13, with first sprint set for 7 p.m. They then make their way to Berkeley to face No. 3 Cal in a 1 p.m. non-conference showdown on Saturday, Oct. 14.
 
SCOUTING THE TIGERS
Fifth-ranked Pacific (12-3, 1-0 GCC) is coming off a 12-7 loss to No. 4 Stanford last Saturday. Sophomores Luke Pavillard and Engin Ege Colak have powered a potent Tiger attack with 46 and 43 goals, respectively, while senior Ben Stevenson has chipped in 24 goals and a team-high 25 assists. Freshman goalkeeper John Hedges has anchored the defense with 129 saves and an 8.05 goals against average.
 
UCI has come up short in its last four meetings with Pacific, including a 17-5 loss in 2016. The Anteaters' most recent win in the series was a 17-10 triumph on Oct. 18, 2014. Lovre Milos led the 'Eaters with five goals in that game.
 
A GLANCE AT CAL
No. 3 Cal (13-1, 0-0 MPSF) earned its third-straight win with a 21-9 triumph over Santa Clara last Wednesday. The Golden Bears' only loss of the year came against then No. 4 UCLA, 9-8, at the Mountain Pacific Invitational in Los Angeles. Senior Luca Cupido leads the team with 33 goals, while juniors Johnny Hooper and Odysseas Masmanidis have 27 each. Senior Kevin Le Vine has seen most of the action in front of the cage, totaling 106 saves.
 
Cal has held the upper hand against UC Irvine in recent years, coming out on top in the last seven meetings of the all-time series. The Bears picked up a narrow 9-6 victory last season as Jon Polos and Ryan Warde paced the Anteaters with two goals each. UCI will be looking for its first win against Cal since 2012.
 
LAST TIME OUT
No. 6 UC Irvine opened Golden Coast Conference play by scoring eight unanswered goals in a 13-4 win over No. 13 San Jose State at the Anteater Aquatics Complex on Friday, Oct. 6.
 
The teams were tied at 3-3 with 5:16 left in the second period, but the 'Eaters took over from there, scoring 10 of the game's last 11 goals. That included UCI's 8-0 run, and a 6-0 stretch through the third period.
 
Junior Jack Trush led the way with three goals, connecting twice in the final period on passes from senior Lovre Milos. Milos, freshman Fynn Schuetze and sophomore Ian Fleenor added two goals apiece, while seniors Antoine Lena, Brendan Duffy and Robby Stiefel, and junior Jon Polos, also scored. Senior goalkeeper Matej Matijevic tied his career high with 18 saves.  
 
LENA COLLECTS WEEKLY HONORS
Senior Antoine Lena was named both the Golden Coast Conference Player of the Week and the D1 Men's Water Polo HERO of the Week on Oct. 5, following his game-winner in UC Irvine's 9-8 victory over top-ranked UCLA (Sept. 30). With the score knotted at 8-8 in the final minutes of regulation, Lena came up big for the 'Eaters, firing to the near side of the cage for the go-ahead goal with 39 seconds on the clock. The native of Marseille, France, finished the afternoon with a season-high three goals, including two in the fourth period. It was the first GCC Player of the Week award for Lena and the Anteaters this season.

ANTEATER GIVEAWAYS
Thanks to the generous donation of a UC Irvine booster, the fan experience at home games will be bolstered by four premier promotional giveaways. There are two giveaways remaining on the schedule with a long sleeve shirt vs. Pepperdine on Nov. 3 and a snapback hat vs. UC San Diego on Nov. 8. In addition, food will be given to the first 200 fans in attendance at all home games, except for the Nov. 8 contest.
 
All home games are complimentary, but fans are required to register online for the promotional items. Pre-registration does not guarantee fans an item and/or food, as they will be distributed on a first-come, first-served basis to those who have pre-registered.
 
NEWS AND NOTES
The 'Eaters remained at No. 6 in the latest USA Water Polo National Collegiate Rankings, coming in behind only UCLA, USC, Cal, Stanford and Pacific. UC Irvine was also sixth in the Collegiate Water Polo Top-20 Poll.
 
UCI had a season-long six-game win streak from Sept. 3-22, and during that stretch, the Anteaters outscored their opponents, 88-33.
 
Senior Lovre Milos has led UC Irvine in scoring in 10 of the team's 14 contests. He has seven four-plus goal games, including at Cal Baptist where he scored a season-high seven. Milos is tops on the team with 46 goals, 16 assists and 27 steals.
 
Senior goalkeeper Matej Matijevic has started every game, totaling 184 saves (13.14/gm) in 420 minutes played. He has double-digit saves in 12 outings, and matched his career high of 18 three times this year, most recently in a 13-4 win against San Jose State (Oct. 6).
 
Freshman Fynn Schuetze ranks second on the squad with 31 goals. He struck three times in his collegiate debut against Fresno Pacific, while leading all scorers with four goals in a win over top-ranked UCLA, and three vs. then No. 1 USC. Schuetze also netted a season-high five goals at Cal Baptist on Sept. 20.
 
After scoring only twice in the first five games, junior Jack Trush has now racked up 14 goals in the last nine matches. He converted three times in wins over Loyola Marymount and San Jose State, while also matching his career high with five goals against Concordia on Sept. 15. Trush is tied for third on the team in scoring (16).
 
Seniors Antoine Lena and Robby Stiefel have been steady all-around for the 'Eaters. In 14 games, Lena has recorded 16 goals, seven assists and 16 steals, while Stiefel has 13 goals, 10 assists and 22 steals.
 
Senior defender Kyle Trush made his first appearance of the season against Concordia on Sept. 15. In the eight games he has played, the Anteaters have allowed only 57 goals (7.13/gm), while playing five matches against top-10 teams, including two that were ranked No. 1. In addition, Trush has five goals, eight assists and nine steals.
 
Sophomore Ian Fleenor delivered the game-winner with 46 seconds left in sudden victory overtime to secure UC Irvine's 8-7 triumph over Pepperdine (Sept. 24), while senior Ryan Warde netted the equalizer with 10 seconds remaining in regulation of a 14-12 OT loss to UC Santa Barbara (Sept. 2).

UCI will be hosting the 2017 Golden Coast Conference Championships at Anteater Aquatics Complex, Nov. 17-19.
 
UP NEXT
UC Irvine continues its road stretch next weekend, making the short trip to Los Angeles for a 1 p.m. non-conference tilt at No. 2 USC on Saturday, Oct. 21.