No. 9 UC Irvine (5-2) at
No. 12 Cal Baptist (6-4)
Date: Wednesday, Sept. 20
Time: 7 p.m. (PDT)
Location: Lancer Aquatics Center - Riverside, Calif.
Watch // Live Stats

MOUNTAIN PACIFIC INVITATIONAL // Tournament Central
GAME #1
No. 9 UC Irvine (5-2) vs.
No. 8 UC Santa Barbara (5-3)
Date: Friday, Sept. 22
Time: 2:15 p.m. (PDT)
Location: Uytengsu Aquatics Center - Los Angeles, Calif.
Live Stats

THIS WEEK
The ninth-ranked UC Irvine men's water polo team (5-2) begins a busy week on Wednesday, Sept. 20, when it travels to Riverside for a 7 p.m. showdown at No. 12 Cal Baptist.
 
The 'Eaters will then make their way to Los Angeles for the Mountain Pacific Invitational, Sept. 22-24. They are slated to open the tournament Friday afternoon against No. 8 UC Santa Barbara at USC's Uytengsu Aquatics Center (2:15 p.m.).
 
SCOUTING THE LANCERS
Cal Baptist (6-4) is 12th in the current USA Water Polo rankings, and came in at No. 15 in last week's Collegiate Water Polo Association's (CWPA) Top-20 Poll, which was released on Sept. 13. The Lancers are coming off a 1-2 weekend at the Aggie Roundup where they fell to No. 5 Pacific and No. 2 USC, while defeating MIT.
 
Jonny Lotero leads CBU with 31 goals on 50 shot attempts. Dominick Nevarez also has 22 goals, while Tanner Shore has 17 goals and a team-high 23 steals. The Lancers have used four different goaltenders, but Gabe Thorne (152 minutes) and Matt Miller (120) have shared most of the time in front of the cage. They have combined for 103 saves and an 11.65 goals against average.
 
A GLANCE AT THE MOUNTAIN PACIFIC INVITATIONAL FIELD
The Mountain Pacific Invitational has a stacked 16-team field that features the top-10 teams in the nation. Three of them bring an undefeated record into the tournament - USC (9-0), Cal (8-0) and UCLA (8-0). All games will be played in Los Angeles at either the Uytengsu Aquatics Center (USC) or Burns Recreation Center (Loyola Marymount).
 
The 'Eaters are in Bracket B with top-ranked USC, No. 8 UC Santa Barbara (5-3) and No. 14 San José State (3-3), and will open the tournament Friday afternoon against UCSB. They have already faced the Gauchos once this season, suffering a heartbreaking 14-12 overtime loss. Ryan Warde scored the game-tying goal in the final 10 seconds of regulation before UC Santa Barbara was able to hold on in the extra periods.
 
Also playing in the Mountain Pacific Invitational are No. 2 Stanford, No. 3 Cal, No. 4 Pacific, No. 5 UCLA, No. 6 Long Beach State, No. 7 UC Davis, No. 10 Pepperdine, No. 11 UC San Diego, No. 15 Princeton, No. 16 Pomona-Pitzer, No. 21 Loyola Marymount and Air Force.

*National rankings mentioned above are from USA Water Polo

LAST TIME OUT
UCI cruised to its fourth-straight win in its home opener last Friday as it dominated Concordia, 16-4. Jack Trush and Lovre Milos led the attack with five goals each. All of Trush's career-high tying five goals came in the first half, while Milos scored all of his in the second half. Fynn Schuetze, Kyle Trush, Ian Fleenor, Antoine Lena, Ryan Warde and Robby Stiefel also found the back of the net in the victory. Goalkeeper Matej Matijevic finished the night with 15 saves and two steals.
 
NEWS AND NOTES
The 'Eaters are ranked among the top-10 in two national polls. They are ninth in this week's USA Water Polo Collegiate Rankings and 10th in the CWPA's Top-20 (as of Sept. 13).
 
UCI is riding a four-game win streak, outscoring its opponents, 56-21, during that stretch.

Over their first seven games, the Anteaters have totaled 96 goals, and have been solid from start to finish with 25 coming in the first quarter, 21 in the second, 25 in the third and 24 in the fourth (one in OT). Their defense has also made it tough for opponents, allowing only 46 goals, including just seven in the fourth quarter.
 
Senior Lovre Milos has led UC Irvine in scoring six times this season. He recorded at least two goals in each of those outings with a season-high five coming against Loyola Marymount and Concordia. Milos is tops on the team in goals (25), assists (8) and steals (12).
 
Senior goalkeeper Matej Matijevic has started every game, totaling 87 saves (12.43/gm) in 200 minutes played. He has double-digit saves in each of the last six contests, including a career-high tying 18 against then No. 6 UC Santa Barbara.
 
After scoring two goals in the first five games, junior All-American Jack Trush has erupted for eight in the last two matches. He scored 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 now ranks third on the team in scoring (10).
 
Freshmen Fynn Schuetze and Jack Baumgardner each netted three goals in their collegiate debut against Fresno Pacific on Sept. 2. Schuetze still ranks second on the squad with 14 goals.
 
Seniors Robby Stiefel and Antoine Lena have also been steady all-around for the 'Eaters. In seven games, Stiefel has registered eight goals, six assists and 12 steals, while Lena has seven goals, five assists and nine steals.
 
Senior Kyle Trush made his first appearance of the season against Concordia (Sept. 15), finishing with one goal, one assist and two steals.
 
YOU WON'T WANT TO MISS THIS
Thanks to the generous donation of a UC Irvine booster, the fan experience at home games will be bolstered by four premier promotional giveaways to the first 200 fans, beginning with a UCI hoodie on Sept. 30. A beanie (Oct. 6), long sleeve shirt (Nov. 3) and snapback hat (Nov. 8) will also be featured. In addition, food will be given to the first 200 fans in attendance at all games, except for the Nov. 8 contest.  
 
All home games are complimentary, but fans must REGISTER ONLINE to be eligible for the promotional items and food. Pre-registration is required, but does not guarantee items. Giveaways will be based on a first come, first served basis for fans who pre-registered.
 
UP NEXT
UC Irvine returns to action next weekend when it hosts fourth-ranked UCLA at the Anteater Aquatics Complex on Saturday, Sept. 30. First sprint is set for 1 p.m. The 'Eaters will also hold their annual Alumni Match at 12 p.m. on Sunday, Oct. 1.