Luka Krstic
11
Air Force AF (9-9)
24
Winner UC Irvine UCI (6-6)
Air Force AF
(9-9)
11
Final
24
UC Irvine UCI
(6-6)
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 F
Air Force AF 3 4 1 3 11
UC Irvine UCI 5 8 5 6 24

Game Recap: Men's Water Polo | | Jordan Kehoe

Anteaters Dominate In Gary Troyer Invitational Opener

POMONA, Calif. – The Anteaters were dominant in their Gary Troyer Invitational opening game with a convincing 24-11 victory over No. 20 Air Force.
 
UC Irvine matches their highest goal total of the season first set back on Sept. 8 against Concordia Irvine with four Anteaters notching hat-tricks. Junior Luka Krstic was a standout for the Anteaters, netting four goals, while Cole Francisco, Jack Stevens, and Johann Thrall each added three.
 
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
  • Stewart Campbell, Jasper Dale, and Wyley Dale each had multi-goal games with two apiece
  • Thomas Cass, Tyler Laymon, Brody Luke, Keegan McGann, and Samuel Otta rounded out the scoring
  • The Anteaters shot at a hot 63.2 percent (24-38)
  • Gage Verdegaal was a pivotal point of the offense as he dished out a career high four assists
  • Jacob Pyle stifled the Falcon offense with his 13 saves, a season high
  • Francisco recorded four steals in the contest followed by Jack Stevens with three
  • UC Irvine converted all six of their five-meter penalty attempts
  • No. 20/20 Air Force was led by Tom Leggett with six goals on ten shots, two assists, three drawn exclusions, and a steal

SCORING BREAKDOWN
  • First period: No. 6/7 UC Irvine went on a 3-0 run to open the action that saw Cole Francisco score at 7:24 and then assist over to Luka Krstic (5:28) for a score. Both sides then would have an answer to each other's scores with one of their own. Johann Thrall (3:44) converted the Anteaters first five-meter shot of the contest before Samuel Otta did at 1:54 as UCI led 5-3.
    • Francisco (1), Krstic (1), Otta (1), Jack Stevens (1), and Thrall (1)
  • Second period: The Anteaters displayed their offensive capabilities in the second period with eight total goals, as they put three away (7:39, 7:06, 6:30) within the first minute and a half. Much like the first period, both sides exchanged goals until three straight from UCI (2:55, 2:11, 0:44) pushed the advantage to 13-7.
  • Third period: UCI's defense clamped down while the offense remained at work only allowing No. 20 Air Force to find the back of the net once over the eight-minute span. In just four minutes, the 'Eaters put away four answered starting with a long pass from Jacob Pyle to Thrall (4:50) and ending with Jasper Dale (0:58) denting the twine to keep UCI ahead, 18-8.
    • Campbell (1), J. Dale (1), Krstic (1), Stevens (1), and Thrall (1)
  • Fourth period: The Anteaters kept their foot on the gas, putting away six goals in the final stanza. UCI continued scoring in waves as the action started with a shoot and score from Keegan McGann at 7:25 and then a third tally from Thrall at 5:53. After a grouping of Anteater scores in between Falcon tallies, Brody Luke sealed the game with a score at 1:02 and then assisting on J. Dale's (0:01) last second shot as UCI took the 24-11 victory.
    • W. Dale (1), Laymon (1), McGann (1), and Thrall (1)
 
UP NEXT
UCI turns around quickly to face Redlands at 4:20 p.m. this afternoon.
 
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