No. 13 San José State (5-6, 0-0 GCC) at
No. 6 UC Irvine (9-4, 0-0 GCC)
Date: Friday, Oct. 6
Time: 7 p.m. (PDT)
Location: Anteater Aquatics Complex - Irvine, Calif.
Registration for Promotional Giveaway

THIS WEEK
Fresh off an upset win over No. 1 UCLA, the sixth-ranked UC Irvine men's water polo team will now open Golden Coast Conference play as it welcomes No. 13 San José State to Anteater Aquatics Complex for a 7 p.m. showdown on Friday, Oct. 6.

THINK PINK
In honor of Breast Cancer Awareness, UC Irvine Athletics will host Think Pink games in the month of October, starting with Friday's men's water polo match. Men's soccer (Oct. 11), women's soccer (Oct. 12), women's volleyball (Oct. 14) and women's golf (Oct. 30) will also have their Think Pink events in the coming weeks.
 
DON'T MISS OUT
Thanks to the generous donation of a UC Irvine booster, the fan experience at home games will be bolstered by four premier promotional giveaways. On Friday, a beanie will be given to the first 200 pre-registered fans. A long sleeve shirt (Nov. 3) and snapback hat (Nov. 8) will also be featured this year. 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 to be eligible for the promotional items (including food). 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.
 
SCOUTING THE SPARTANS
San José State dropped to 5-6 on the year following a 16-5 loss at No. 4 Stanford last Saturday.
 
As of Sept. 26, freshman Jacob Mercep had 37 goals to lead the Spartans, while sophomore Ben Hauschild was tops on the team in both assists (15) and steals (21). Sophomore TJ Palmer has played a majority of the minutes in front of the cage, compiling 61 saves and a 10.10 goals against average.
 
UC Irvine is 5-0 against SJSU since the Spartans reinstated their men's water polo program in 2015, following a 34-year hiatus. The 'Eaters won all three meetings in 2016, including a 14-13 victory in the fifth-place match at the Golden Coast Conference Tournament in Stockton. Ryan Warde scored the game-winner with seven seconds left in overtime and finished the day with four goals. Jack Trush also had five goals, while Matej Matijevic registered 15 saves.
 
LAST TIME OUT
UC Irvine is coming off a statement win as it upended No. 1 UCLA, 9-8, in front of a capacity crowd at Anteater Aquatics Complex on Saturday, Sept. 30. It was UCI's first victory over the Bruins since 2007.
 
Senior Antoine Lena scored the game-winning goal, his third of the afternoon, with 39 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter. Freshman Fynn Schuetze led all players with four goals, while seniors Lovre Milos and Robby Stiefel also found the back of the cage. Goalkeeper Matej Matijevic recorded 13 saves.
 
"We have been building this unit for almost two years to get this result and the opportunity to play and beat the top teams," head coach Marc Hunt said after the game. "It helps feed our confidence as we move towards our conference season. Today, we had great leadership from Milos and Trush, and great individual performances by Schuetze, Lena and Matijevic."
 
Schuetze started the scoring at the 3:16 mark. After the Bruins tied it up, Schuetze struck again to give UC Irvine a 2-1 lead at the end of the first period. UCLA was able to pull ahead, 5-4, at halftime, but the 'Eaters used solid defense, along with goals from Stiefel and Lena in the third frame to hold a 6-5 edge. The Anteaters went toe-to-toe with the Bruins in the fourth period, and Lena's late goal stood as the game-winner after UCI held the visitors without a shot on their final possession.
 
LATE HEROICS
UC Irvine has seen three different players step up late in a game this year. Last Saturday, Antoine Lena found the back of the cage with 39 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter to secure the Anteaters' 9-8 upset of No. 1 UCLA. Just six days earlier, Ian Fleenor delivered the game-winner with 46 seconds left in sudden victory overtime to lock up an 8-7 triumph over Pepperdine. In UCI's first meeting against UC Santa Barbara, Ryan Warde netted the equalizer with 10 ticks on the clock, sending the game into overtime where the Gauchos ended up holding on for the 14-12 win.
 
NEWS AND NOTES
The 'Eaters moved up one spot to No. 6 in the latest USA Water Polo National Collegiate Rankings. They came in behind only UCLA, USC, Cal, Pacific and Stanford. 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 13 games. He has found the back of the cage at least four times in seven matches, including at Cal Baptist where he scored a season-high seven goals. Milos is tops on the team with 44 goals, 13 assists and 25 steals.
 
Senior goalkeeper Matej Matijevic has started every game, totaling 166 saves (12.77/gm) in 388 minutes played. He has double-digit saves in 11 outings, and matched his career high of 18 twice against UC Santa Barbara (Sept. 2 & Sept. 22).
 
Matijevic played one season at San José State where he started 27 games and compiled 259 saves for the Spartans in 2015.
 
Freshman Fynn Schuetze ranks second on the squad with 29 goals. He struck three times in his collegiate debut against Fresno Pacific, and led 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.
 
Seniors Antoine Lena and Robby Stiefel have been steady all-around for the 'Eaters. In 13 games, Lena has recorded 15 goals, seven assists and 16 steals, while Stiefel has 12 goals, 10 assists and 21 steals. Lena finished with a season-best three goals, including the game-winner in the final seconds of a 9-8 victory over No. 1 UCLA.
 
After scoring only twice in the first five games, junior All-American Jack Trush has now racked up 11 goals in the last eight matches. He converted three times in a 15-8 win vs. Loyola Marymount on Sept. 9, before matching his career high with five goals against Concordia on Sept. 15. Trush ranks fourth on the team in scoring (13).
 
Senior defender Kyle Trush made his first appearance of the season against Concordia on Sept. 15. In the seven games he has played, the Anteaters have allowed only 53 goals (7.57/gm), while playing five matches against top-10 teams, including two that were ranked No. 1. In addition, Trush has five goals, seven assists and nine steals.
 
UP NEXT
UC Irvine heads to Northern California for a pair of games next week, starting with a 7 p.m. GCC showdown at fourth-ranked Pacific on Friday, Oct. 13. The 'Eaters then make their way to No. 3 Cal on Saturday, Oct. 14, for a 2 p.m. non-conference match.