LONG BEACH, Calif. –  Another career high seven goals from Luka Krstic helps lead No. 9/10 UC Irvine to a thrilling 13-12 victory over No. 8/6 Long Beach State on Friday evening.
 
The win snaps a 12-game losing streak to the Beach dating back to the last Anteater victory on November, 18 2017 (W, 9-8). UCI also earned their first victory in Long Beach since 9-7 win on Oct. 16, 2010.
 
UCI moves to 2-0 in Big West play while LBSU drops to 0-2 in conference action.
 
INSIDE THE NUMBERS

• Ethan Shipman and Gage Verdegaal each netted two goals in the win
• Jackson Matos and Brody Luke rounded out the scoring with one each
• The Anteaters remained efficient on offense converting 13 of their 22 shots (0.591)
• Jacob Pyle blocked 12 shots for his sixth double figure save performance of the season
• UCI edged LBSU in power play conversions, 5-4
• Cole Francisco and Shipman dished out a team best two assists
• Tyler Padua led all players with seven drawn exclusions, one off his career high
• No. 8/6 Long Beach State had three players record two goals

SCORING BREAKDOWN

• First period: No. 8/6 Long Beach State got on the board first on their first possession to take the early advantage. After multiple drawn exclusions, Luka Krstic netted two (5:31, 2:37) with the Anteaters up a player to take control of game. The Beach knotted the game 2-all on the next possession and then found the back of the cage with the help of some deflections to take the 3-2 lead with 25 seconds left.
  • Krstic (2)
• Second period: Ethan Shipman equalized the contest at 6:23 when he placed the ball into the upper left corner. LBSU pulled ahead by two before Tyler Padua's pass out to Krstic (4:54) for the shot brought the Anteaters within one, 5-4. The Beach barred down for another two-point lead at 4:22, but two more from Krstic (2:26, 1:44) on a catch and shoot and at the top of the formation on a 6-on-5 made it 6-all. With 21 seconds left in the half, Brody Luke went cross cage on the narrow shot, putting UCI ahead 7-6.
  • Krstic (3), Luke (1), Shipman (1)
• Third period: UCI continued their run with two goals in the first two minutes of the second half action. The Beach used a five-meter penalty to decrease the lead to two, but a cross-cage goal from Gage Verdegaal (3:55) and a deep launch from Jackson Matos (3:28) gave the Anteaters their largest lead of the contest, 11-7. Two LBSU goals sandwiched a five-meter conversion from Krstic (2:07) as the 'Eaters still held the 12-9 advantage into the final stanza.
  • Verdegaal (2), Krstic (1), Matos (1), Shipman (1)
• Fourth period: As the game drew to a close, UCI managed to hold off a late surge from Long Beach State, sealing the victory with a critical goal from Krstic (2:32) in the fourth period. The Beach found the upper corner with 1:46 left, but it was not enough as the Anteaters defeated LBSU, 13-12.
  • Krstic (1)

 
UP NEXT
The Anteaters return to the Anteater Aquatics Complex tomorrow (Oct. 19) to take on the Westcliff Warriors at 12 p.m.