IRVINE, Calif. – The 10
th-ranked UC Irvine men's water polo team dropped a 9-4 decision to 12
th-ranked UC San Diego in the first game of the WWPA vs. GCC Conference Challenge Cup, Saturday at Anteater Aquatics Complex.
With the loss, UCI falls to 2-3 on the season. The Tritons improve to 4-1 overall.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
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Jason Evezard led the 'Eaters with two goals
> Evezard also grabbed a team-high five steals
> UCSD's Connor Turnbow-Lindenstadt had a game-high three goals
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Byron Rivers made nine saves in goal and tallied three steals
> Sam Thompson had 13 saves for the Tritons
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Zlatan Nikocevic and
Foster Hoose tallied one goal apiece for the Anteaters
> UCI held a 27-25 advantage in shots
> The Anteaters were 4-of-13 on powerplays while UCSD went 3-of-9
> UCI won three-out-of-four sprints
TURNING POINTS
> Neither team would score until late in the first quarter when
Ian Fleenor found Evezard for an extra-man goal with 2:09 left to play
> The Tritons answered with 18 seconds remaining in the first quarter to knot the game, 1-1
> Evezard scored his second goal of the game with 6:11 showing in the second quarter making it 2-1 UCI
> UCSD evened things up with a goal at 5:20 in the second frame and added another on a five-meter penalty shot to take a 3-2 lead with 3:27 left to play in the quarter
> The Tritons added another goal with 1:20 on the clock to make it 4-2 game at the half
> UCSD out-scored UCI 4-1 in the third quarter to take an 8-3 lead
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Zlatan Nikocevic tallied a goal for the 'Eaters with 4:06 left in the fourth quarter but it wasn't enough as the Tritons earned the five-goal, 9-4, victory
NOTES
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Jason Evezard leads UCI with 16 goals this season
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Byron Rivers has played every minute in goal for the 'Eaters this season and has 62 saves
> UCI lost to UCSD for the first time since 2014
> The Anteaters are now 53-14 all-time against the Tritons
> UCI is 1-1 against UCSD this season
UP NEXT: UCI will face Loyola Marymount today at 3:30 p.m. for the second game of the GCC vs. WWPA Challenge Cup.
