IRVINE, Calif. – A slow start doomed No. 15 UC Irvine in 12-9 loss to No. 7 UC Santa Barbara, Saturday at Anteater Aquatics Complex.

UCI outscored UCSB 7-4 in the second half but the Gauchos had an 8-2 halftime lead and ultimately, the Anteaters were unable to erase the deficit.

The Anteaters fall to 0-3 in the GCC and 7-11 on the year while UCSB improves to 1-2 in conference and 18-7 overall.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS
> Casey Lynton led the 'Eaters with four goals
> Zlatan Nikocevic finished with two goals while Kiyan Mohebbizadeh, Nikola Ilic and Stewart Campbell each had one
> Harrison Land played all four quarters and tallied 12 saves
> UCSB's Sam Nangle had a game-high five goals while keeper Danny Roland made eight saves


Quarter One
> Lynton fired in a goal at 3:01 but UCSB scored four times in the quarter to go up, 4-1

Quarter Two
> The Gauchos tacked on three more goals to go up, 7-1, with 1:29 remaining
> Nikocevic scored for the Anteaters with just over a minute remaining before UCSB added another goal at the buzzer to make it 8-2 at the half

Quarter Three
> UCI came out of the half firing with a goal from Ilic to make it 8-3 (6:44)
> Campbell and Mohebbizadeh each scored a goal for the Anteaters while Ryan Bronson added one for the Gauchos as UCSB led 9-5 with 4:45 to play
> The Gauchos scored two goals in the final three minutes to extend their lead, 11-5

Quarter Four
> UCSB's Adam Gyenis scored at 7:05 to make it 12-5
> UCI's offense came alive as Nikocevic fired in a goal at 6:46 followed by a goal from Lynton at 5:33
> Lynton tacked on two more goals at 3:37 and :34 seconds, respectively, but it wasn't enough as UCI dropped the 12-9 decision

Up Next
> UCI hosts Pacific Saturday, Nov. 6 at 1 p.m. in its final home game of the regular season