IRVINE, Calif. – The Anteater Aquatics Complex erupted as Ethan Shipman netted the game winning goal for No. 9/8 UC Irvine in the eighth period (sudden victory) to top No. 16/15 UC Santa Barbara 14-13 on Saturday afternoon.
 
Shipman notched a hat-trick with his game winning shot to join Jackson Matos and Luka Krstic who also had three-goal games.
 
With the win, UCI remains atop the Big West standings with a perfect 3-0 record in league action.
 
INSIDE THE NUMBERS

• Jack Stevens pitched in two goals in the winning effort
• Cole Francisco, Stewart Campbell, and Johann Thrall contributed one goal each
• UC Irvine converted four power play chances to UC Santa Barbara's two
• Zayd Mahmoud recorded 11 saves in the win
• Campbell and Shipman each dished out a game high three assists
• The centers dominated with Ethan Spoon drawing a game best five exclusions, Stevens drew four, and Tyler Padua was credited with three
• Krstic stole the ball three times
• No. 16/15 UC Santa Barbara had five players score two goals apiece

SCORING BREAKDOWN

• First period: After winning the opening sprint, No. 16/15 UC Santa Barbara put away two unanswered, the first at 7:37 and the next at 6:27. The Anteaters were able to string together three straight scores with their final at 0:33 on a Jack Stevens dagger for UCI's first lead of the contest. The Gauchos equalized to 3-all at 0:12 to end the period.
  • Matos (1), Stevens (1), and Thrall (1)
• Second period: UCSB went on a three-goal tear through the first five minutes of the second period to hold a healthy advantage. No. 9/8 UC Irvine found the cage on a Luka Krstic (1:43) missile from up top on the 6-on-5 to end the half down, 6-4.
  • Krstic (1)
• Third period: Jack Stevens ignited the third period scoring when he picked up the ball at 6:58 after the offensive call on the Gauchos and sprinted down the pool for the score to bring the game within one. UCSB bounced back with two goals of their own at 5:51 and 4:23 to push their advantage back to three. An offensive surge from the Anteaters in the final two minutes and 42 seconds with scores from Ethan Shipman (2:42), Jackson Matos (1:53), and capped off by an insane fake out shot from Shipman for the pass over to Krstic (0:37) who went cross cage to knot the game, 8-8.
  • Krstic (1), Matos (1), Shipman (1), and Stevens (1)
• Fourth period: The Anteaters and Gauchos battled it out in the fourth stanza going blow for blow. At 7:36, Cole Francisco placed one over the head of UCSB goalkeeper to push UCI ahead. Matos netted his hat-trick at the 2:38 mark before Krstic tallied his at 1:29. UC Santa Barbara found the back of the cage at 0:59 to make the game 11-all forcing overtime.
  • Francisco (1), Krstic (1), and Matos (1)
• Fifth period: A defensive stop gave UCI the ball setting up Stevens pass over to Stewart Campbell (2:08) who ripped the ball into the nearside post and bounce in. UCSB utilized a deflection to tie the game back up, but with two seconds left on the clock in the first overtime period, Shipman hit the back post to put the Anteaters up, 13-12.
  • Campbell (1) and Shipman (1)
• Sixth period: Defense was strong on both sides throughout the final three minutes of the final overtime period. UCI held the ball for as long as they could to run out the clock within the final minute. A defensive miscue led to UCSB equalizing 13-all with four seconds left to send the contest to a sudden victory period.
• Sudden Victory (7 and 8): It remained scoreless after three minutes in the first sudden victory period with only four total shots taken. No. 9/8 UC Irvine won the opening sprint in the eighth, passed around the formation, and got the ball over to Shipman just 24 seconds in for a ripping shot to the upper shelf for the 14-13 victory.
  • Shipman (8th, 1)

 
UP NEXT
No. 9/8 UC Irvine closes out the weekend with No. 7/10 Pepperdine on Sunday Oct. 27 at 1 p.m.