IRVINE, Calif. – The Anteaters head out to Riverside on Wednesday Oct. 9 for a mid-week match with No. 19/18 California Baptist before making the return to the Anteater Aquatics Complex to host No. 13/13 UC San Diego on Friday Oct. 11 for the Big West opener.
 
Week Six Notes
 
THIS WEEKEND
No. 6 UC Irvine at No. 19/18 California Baptist
Wednesday, October 9 | 6:00 PM | Lancer Aquatics Center
Watch | Live Stats

No. 13/13 UC San Diego vs. No. 6/7 UC Irvine
Friday, October 11 | 6:00 PM | Anteater Aquatics Complex
Watch | Live Stats

THIS WEEK'S STORYLINES
> UC Irvine enters the week ranked sixth in the CWPA Weekly Poll and are slated seventh in the Association of College Water Polo Coaches poll
> UCI heads to Riverside to rematch No. 19/18 California Baptist (Oct. 9) before returning home to open the Big West slate with No. 13/13 UC San Diego (Oct. 11)
> The Anteaters will hold their annual Ted Newland Alumni game on Saturday Oct. 12 at 12 p.m.
> No. 19/18 California Baptist enters the weekend with a 9-8 overall record and went 3-1 over the weekend
> The Lancers earned wins over Mount St. Mary's (W, 15-10), Wagner (W, 14-11) and Redlands (W, 18-11), but dropped to No. 9 Long Beach State (L, 18-13)
> Toring Stanley leads CBU in both points (53) and assists (30) while Bohdi Bowden leads the goal scoring effort with 42
> Caleb Teroka is an offensive weapon with the Lancers' second best goals (32) and points (49)
> William Whitestone has spent a majority of the time in cage for CBU recording 108 saves for a 40.1 save percentage
> No. 13/13 UC San Diego heads into the conference match with a 10-8 overall record
> The Tritons picked up wins against Chapman (24-2), Fresno Pacific (18-4), and No. 20 Air Force (17-6) over the weekend
> Landon Akerstrom leads UCSD with 43 points (39 goals and four assists) followed by Lucas Romaguera with 32 (24 goals and eight assists)
> Logan Estes is a mainstay in the cage for the Tritons with 117 saves in 18 games played
> All six Big West teams enter the week on a win streak

PLAYER NOTES
> UC Irvine went a perfect 4-0 at the Gary Troyer Invitational with two wins over top 20 opponents including a top 5 upset of No. 4/4 Pepperdine
> The Anteaters scored 20+ goals in three of the four games over two days to average 20.3 goals scored per game
> Against 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
    -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
> Against Redlands
    - Sophomore Johann Thrall added his second hat-trick of the day while senior Tyler Padua notched his first to lead the Anteater scoring
    - A powerhouse in the cage, Zayd Mahmoud set a new career high in saves with 18
    - Luka Krstic and Samuel Otta contributed two goals each
    - Stewart Campbell, Jayson Hubbard, Brody Luke, Keegan McGann, and Ethan Spoon added the rest of the Anteater scores
    - Campbell and Alex Lopez both dished out two assists
    - Jack Stevens stole the ball a team high two times and also drew two exclusions
> Against No. 4 Pepperdine
    - Attacker Luka Krstic had the game of his career with seven goals and three assists to combine for ten points
    - 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
    - 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
    - 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
> Against Pomona-Pitzer
    - Center Wyley Dale paced the scoring with five goals, a career best, followed by Johann Thrall with four
    - Jasper Dale was the other Anteater to score multiple goals in the contest with two
    - Eleven UCI players tallied a goal each
    - Freshman Jayson Hubbard dished out a career high four assists
    - Zayd Mahmoud started in cage and made one save through eight minutes
    - Jacob Pyle entered the game for the remaining three periods where he made four stops
    - Ethan Shipman stole the ball a game best three times
> In the Big West as of Oct. 7, several Anteaters rank in the top-10 in several statistical categories: assists (7th- Verdegaal), points (7th- Krstic), field blocks (3rd- Krstic, Shipman, 5th- Matos, 9th- Cass), sprint wins (7th- Thrall, 8th- Stevens, 10th- Campbell), steals (6th- Francisco), saves (5th- Pyle, 6th- Mahmoud), and save percentage (1st- Mahmoud, 7th- Pyle)