POMONA, Calif. –  Several standout performances from No. 6/7 UC Irvine help guide the Anteaters to a 20-10 upset of No. 4/4 Pepperdine on Saturday morning.
 
Attacker Luka Krstic had the game of his career with seven goals and three assists to combine for ten points. The last Anteater to record seven goals in a game was Dylan Patist against Pepperdine on Nov. 18, 2022, and the last to tally ten points in a game (seven goals, three assists) was Zlatan Nikocevic on Sept. 30, 2021, over Westcliff.
 
Freshmen Cole Francisco and Ethan Spoon helped takeover on offense with four and three goals, respectively. It was Francisco's second hat-trick of the weekend and new career high in goals scored.
 
Tyler Padua was a crucial piece of the offensive effort for UCI as he drew a new career high eight exclusions. Padua's eight drawn kickouts are the most in the program's recent history (since 2016).
 
FROM HEAD COACH DAN KLATT
"You could feel the energy was good from the time the team sat down together for breakfast," remarked head coach Dan Klatt. "They executed the game plan extremely well and shot the ball with consistency. Everyone was dialed in and excited for the game, and that energy was present from the first to the last whistle. We can still be better on defense, but we had some important stops at the right time."
 
INSIDE THE NUMBERS

• 20 goals are the most Pepperdine has given up this season (last versus Cal on Sept. 8, 2024)
• Stewart Campbell and Johann Thrall also had multi-goal games with two apiece
• Samuel Otta and Ethan Shipman rounded out the scoring
• Francisco and Krstic both dished out a game best three assists
• No. 6/7 UC Irvine was not slowing down on offense going 20-33 (0.606) at the cage while holding No. 4/4 Pepperdine to 10-40 (0.250)
• The Anteaters converted on eight power play chances, 8-11 (0.727)
• Junior Zayd Mahmoud earned his second win of the weekend in the cage behind 15 saves
• No. 4/4 Pepperdine was led by Bronson Birdsall with two goals, an assist, two drawn exclusions, and a steal

SCORING BREAKDOWN

• First period: No. 6/7 UC Irvine went up 2-0 early in the contest courtesy of Cole Francisco's (5:42) shot on the outlet pass from Tyler Padua and then a pass from Gage Verdegaal over to Luka Krstic at 4:48. No. 4/4 Pepperdine stormed back with three unanswered to take the lead, but a five-meter conversion at 2:00 and a shot at 0:58 on the power play, both by Krstic, put the Anteaters ahead, 4-3.
  • Krstic (3) and Francisco (1)
• Second period: Off the rebound, Ethan Spoon (5:53) collected the ball and went for the score. The Waves then brought the game within one, 5-4, at 4:35 on a counterattack after the Anteaters gave up the ball on a bad pass. UCI's offensive onslaught continued, with Krstic (3:59, 3:25, 0:36) scoring three more times alongside contributions from Francisco (2:31, 0:06) and Johann Thrall (1:31). The Anteaters extended their lead significantly, ending the half up 11-5.
  • Krstic (3), Francisco (2), Spoon (1), and Thrall (1)
• Third period: UCI continued their scoring run with two goal contributions from Krstic. Opening the second half, the junior attacker fed the ball to Samuel Otta (7:37) for a score. Then, at 4:59, Krstic had the field block on one end and then went the length of the pool for the score on the other. The Anteaters poured in four more goals during the period, the last with one second left on the clock where Thrall hit the target on the 6-on-5 to keep UCI ahead, 17-8.
  • Spoon (2), Campbell (1), Krstic (1), Otta (1), and Thrall (1)
• Fourth period: For the first time in the game, No. 4/4 Pepperdine recorded the first goal of the period, this one at 7:45 on a power play. The Anteaters then strung together three scores over the next three minutes from Francisco (7:24), Ethan Shipman (5:41), and Stewart Campbell (4:35) to push the advantage. UCI held the Waves off the board until the final 20 seconds of the contest, but it was not enough as the 'Eaters won 20-10.
  • Campbell (1), Francisco (1), Shipman (1)

 
UP NEXT
UCI rounds out the Gary Troyer Invitational with the host school Pomona-Pitzer at 1:20 p.m.