UC Irvine Downs Defending National Champions No. 6/6 California, 13-5

Friday, September 27

Irvine, CA

1 p.m.

UC Irvine

5-5

California

8-4

Team	1	2	3	4	Final F
California	1	2	1	1	5
UC Irvine	4	5	2	2	13

UC Irvine Downs Defending National Champions No. 6/6 California, 13-5

September 27, 2024 | Men's Water Polo

Box Score

By: Jordan Kehoe

IRVINE, Calif. – In a game where they never trailed, No. 8/8 UC Irvine took down the three-time defending national champions No. 6/6 California, 13-5, in a total team effort on Friday afternoon.

It is the Anteaters first win over the Golden Bears since September 29, 2012, when UCI won 13-11 and the first home victory over Cal since October 2, 2010 (W, 9-8). It is also the 'Eaters largest margin of victory over the reigning national champions in program history, tied with the October 10, 1981, match played in Berkeley with the same score, 13-5.

UC Irvine's defense was locked in for all 32 minutes with 11 stops from senior Zayd Mahmoud in the cage and an additional nine more from the field. Cal only saw the ball find the back of the cage five times, their lowest offensive outing of the season, and fewest in the series between the two teams since the October 7, 2000, meeting in Berkeley where the Anteaters won, 5-4.

FROM HEAD COACH DAN KLATT
"I felt like today was our most complete game that we have probably played over the course of the last three years," remarked head coach Dan Klatt. "We executed our defense extremely well, our game plan, we let the offense come to us, and scored at the appropriate opportunities, but we really leaned into the defense, and I think that is what made the difference in the game. We got great goalie play from Zayd Mahmoud today and the combination of those things put us in a really good position. I feel excited for the guys simply because they know what it is like to play a game start to finish. I hope that we can continue that moving forward and into our next contest."

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

No. 8/8 UC Irvine was efficient on offense converting at a 0.542 clip (13-24) while holding the Golden Bears to 5-33 (0.152)
Luka Krstic notched his fourth hat-trick of the season for a game best three goals
The centers of Tyler Padua and Ethan Spoon each tallied two goals
Spoon was a menace once again with a match-high four steals and a team best two drawn exclusions
Thomas Cass, Samuel Otta, Cole Francisco, Ethan Shipman, Gage Verdegaal, and Johann Thrall rounded out the Anteater scoring
Jackson Matos dished out a game best three assists followed by Stewart Campbell with two
Mahmoud's 11 saves are a season high for the senior goalkeeper

SCORING BREAKDOWN

First period: Just 42 seconds into the action, No. 8/8 UC Irvine found the back of the cage as Thomas Cass brought the ball down the middle of the pool (7:18). The Anteaters continued their momentum as they saw a Tyler Padua shot go in at 6:47 as it pinged off the post and behind the Cal keeper into the cage. No. 6/6 California converted on a 6-on-5 opportunity at 6:13 to bring the game within one, but a thread through the defense from Luka Krstic (5:46) and outlet pass to Cole Francisco (0:56) lurched the Anteaters to a 4-1 lead.
- Cass (1), Francisco (1), Krstic (1), and Padua (1)
Second period: UCI continued to threaten on offense with three unanswered by Ethan Shipman on a nearside bounce in at 6:33, Johann Thrall's fake out at 5:36, and Padua (4:43) with the ripping shot from the center. Two tallies from Cal sandwiched a kick-out from Padua to Krstic for a long-range shot before the half ended with an Ethan Spoon (1:54) put-in from the middle to push the lead to 9-3.
- Krstic (1), Padua (1), Shipman (1), Spoon (1), and Thrall (1)
Third period: Both sides put on the offensive breaks to start the second half. No. 8/8 UC Irvine remained hot as Krstic lifted for the missile at 7:19, but Cal converted on the following possession at 6:49 right as the shot clock expired. The Anteaters held strong on defense before they added another goal when Spoon ripped around in center to a wide-open cage at 2:17 to maintain the advantage, 11-4.
- Krstic (1) and Spoon (1)
Fourth period: For the first time in the contest, No. 6/6 California found the back of the cage first in a period. UCI saw two more go in as Gage Verdegaal (4:37) placed the ball over the head of the Golden Bears goalkeeper and Samuel Otta (1:34) with a close shot to take the 13-5 victory.
- Otta (1) and Verdegaal (1)