UCI Holds On To Defeat No. 9/9 UC San Diego

Saturday, September 23

Los Angeles, Calif.

3:30 p.m.

UC Irvine

6-4

UC San Diego

7-6

Team	1	2	3	4	Final F
UC San Diego	2	3	2	2	9
UC Irvine	4	3	1	2	10

UCI Holds On To Defeat No. 9/9 UC San Diego

September 23, 2023 | Men's Water Polo

Box Score

By: Jordan Kehoe

LOS ANGELES – UC Irvine men's water polo held on to defeat No. 9/9 UC San Diego, 10-9, on Saturday afternoon.

Seven different Anteaters scored in the 10-point affair with Tyler Padua scoring his two in the first period.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

Padua also had a muli-goal game in this morning's win against Whittier
Thomas Cass and Gage Verdegaal put away two goals each
Cass was credited with scoring the game winner in the contest
Junior Jacob Pyle took the spot in the cage, blocking four shots and assisting on the game winning goal
Pyle recorded his fourth win of the year
Ethan Shipman and Verdegaal led the game with two assists apiece
Shipman stole the ball three times, a game best
Baxter and Stevens also had a games bests in steals with three each
Samuel Otta has extended his scoring streak to 10 games
No. 9/9 UC San Diego was led by Kaden Likins who recorded three goals on six shots and dished out two assists

SCORING BREAKDOWN

First period: UC Irvine continued to show their dominance early, scoring the first two goals of the game. No. 9/9 UC San Diego turned on the jets to respond with their two goals, but the Anteaters persistence in the last two minutes gave them the lead, 4-2.
- Padua (2), Johann Thrall (1), and Verdegaal (1)
Second period: The Anteaters put one more in the net before going back-and-forth exchange of goals with the Tritons to hold the lead, 7-5.
- Cass (1), Luka Krstic (1), and Dylan Patist (1)
Third period: UCSD shut down the UCI offense in the third period while the Tritons put two in the cage to tie the game. The 'Eaters called a timeout with a minute remaining to regroup and set up a plan that saw them break the deadlock with 37 seconds on the clock, 8-7.
- Otta (1)
Fourth period: UC Irvine added one more to the score sheet to increase their lead by two. The Tritons mounted a comeback with their two goals to lock the game with five minutes left in the game. Bringing it down to the final minutes, Cass recorded the game winner to hold on for the victory, 10-9.
- Cass (1) and Verdegaal (1)