IRVINE, Calif.— UC Irvine (17-6, 7-0 BW) completed their first undefeated conference season since 2017 in the 11-9 victory over No. 7 Long Beach State (17-7, 5-2 BW) for the Big West regular season title.

This is UCI's eighth regular season crown in program history and fifth perfect season in league action.

The Anteaters closed out the regular season with a 7-1 record at their home pool and have won nine straight contests.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS
>No. 7 Long Beach State out shot No. 4 UC Irvine, 37-35
>The 'Eaters have won 16-straight contests against The Beach
>Erin Tharp made the start in the cage, blocking 13 shots in her eighth win of the season
>Tharp has now had five games with double figure saves this season
>10 Anteaters tallied shots in the contest
>Kennedy East led the game in goals with her hat-trick (3-8)
>Elena Flynn etched her name into the UC Irvine record book with her two goals today for 119 career tallies, good for 16^th all-time in program history
>Jessica Lynch dished out a game high three assists to go along with her two goals and pivotal field block
>Senior Brooke Banta also had a multi-goal game, scoring two on her three attempts
>Long Beach State was led by Elisa Portillo who recorded two goals on 11 shots, one assist, and one steal
 
FIRST PERIOD
>Jessica Lynch (7:13) got the first goal of the day after receiving the ball off a corner throw set play. The ball was initially hit by the Long Beach State goalkeeper, but floated in off the deflection, 1-0
>Lynch connected with Brooke Banta (5:54) who let one fly from the right side, 2-0
>With an extra player, No. 7 Long Beach State was able to cut the 'Eater lead down to one at 4:19, 2-1
>In a pinball battle off deflected shots, The Beach knotted the game 2-all with 36 ticks remaining on their third consecutive shot in a 10 second span
 
SECOND PERIOD
>Long Beach State's Rachael Kowalchick (5:37) went one-on-one with Erin Tharp, barely sneaking it on the near side, 2-3
>LBSU continued on a 4-0 run at 3:46 with a launch on the far side of the pool to increase their lead forcing UCI to regroup, 2-4
>Our current Big West Player of the Week Kennedy East (3:23) lofted the ball over The Beach's goalkeeper on the assist from Lynch, 3-4
>After Tharp was called for an exclusion at 3:04, three Anteaters stepped into the line of defense in the cage and Lynch was able to block The Beach's scoring attempt
>Regaining a possession off LBSU's offensive foul, Airian Grisham found the sprinting Lynch (0:05) for the attack, 4-4

THIRD PERIOD
>Elena Flynn (5:51) breaks the deadlock on a shot from deep, 5-4. This was her 118^th career goal, good for 16^th all-time in program history
>Long Beach State responded with a goal of their on following possession, 5-5 (5:25)
>After LBSU's timeout, they struck again at 4:25 to retain the lead, 5-6
>Libby Alexander found a wide op Gabby Norris (3:06) on the right side for a rocket shot into the cage, 6-6
>East (2:23) took it down the pool herself, firing the ball off from past five meters, 7-6
>With her second consecutive game with a hat-trick, East (1:40) went in close on the left side for the cross-cage goal off the dish from Gracie Helberg, 8-6

FOURTH PERIOD
>Long Beach State used the momentum off a blocked Anteater shot to score at 5:48 to bring the game back within one point, 8-7
>Alexander found Flynn (5:21) at the top of the UCI formation to increase the Anteater advantage, 9-7
>LBSU drew up a play during a timeout and executed it at 3:42, 9-8
>Nioka Thomas (2:20) back hands the ball into the goal as time expired on the shot clock, 10-8
>The Beach answered with one more goal at 1:52 to come back within striking distance, but Banta (1:28) would find the back of the net to win the game for the UCI
 
UP NEXT
No. 1 seeded UC Irvine is set to face off against No. 8 seeded Cal State Fullerton in the first round of the Big West Championships on Friday April 29^th. Opening sprint is slated for 9 a.m. in Santa Barbara.