13 Anteaters Score In Winning Effort Over CUI

Sunday, September 8

La Jolla, CA

5:15 p.m.

UC Irvine

2-2

Concordia University Irvine

0-4

Team	1	2	3	4	Final F
Concordia	1	3	2	4	10
UC Irvine	6	9	5	4	24

13 Anteaters Score In Winning Effort Over CUI

September 08, 2024 | Men's Water Polo

Box Score

By: Jordan Kehoe

LA JOLLA, Calif. – No. 6/7 UC Irvine saw 13 different Anteaters find the back of the cage in their 24-10 win over cross-town foe Concordia University Irvine in the final game of the Triton Invitational.

Senior Tyler Padua led all players with four goals while redshirt freshman Ben Youngblood shined in his first appearance as an Anteater as he notched his first career hat-trick.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

Cole Francisco, Jack Stevens, Johann Thrall, Brody Luke, Maddox McEwen, and Jasper Dale all had two goals each
Ethan Shipman, Stewart Campbell, Gage Verdegaal, Ethan Spoon, and Wyley Dale rounded out the scoring with a goal apiece
The Anteaters shot at a shocking 0.750 clip (24-32)
Along with Youngblood, McEwen also registered his first career goal in the outing
Zayd Mahmoud made the start in between the pipes stopping three shots in eight minutes
Senior Aidan Bryne entered the cage and played the remaining 24 minutes where he recorded a career best 10 saves and added an assist
Verdegaal contributed three assists while five other Anteaters had two
Padua continued to be a force in the center with three drawn exclusions, a game high
CUI was led by Jacob Stuart who recorded three goals on five shots, one assist, and two steals

SCORING BREAKDOWN

First period: No. 6/7 UC Irvine went on a four-goal dash with two tallies back-to-back from Tyler Padua (5:59, 5:22) and Johann Thrall (4:46, 3:59). After a Concordia University Irvine five-meter conversion, Jasper Dale (2:05) netted one of his one before Maddox McEwen was left wide-open in front of the cage at 1:35 to push the advantage, 6-1.
- Padua (2), Thrall (2), J. Dale (1), and McEwen (1)
Second period: The Anteaters continued their scoring run with two more in their first two possessions of the stanza. Two Cole Francisco (4:19, 3:59) goals were sandwiched between a CUI near-side strike and a misdirection flick. UCI put away another three unanswered before the Golden Eagles could stop the run with a five-meter make at 1:05. The 'Eaters managed to find the cage twice more before the end of the half, the last a ripping shot from Jack Stevens with three seconds left, 15-4.
- Francisco (2), Stevens (2), Stewart Campbell (1), Wyley Dale (1), Brody Luke (1), Ethan Shipman (1), and Ethan Spoon (1)
Third period: Both teams exchanged goals to open the second half. Padua roared again from the center as he snuck one in on a turn at 4:56 for a hat-trick and then fought off three defenders at 2:35 for his fourth score of the contest. Luke (1:10) closed out the period with a make from the five-meter mark, 20-6.
- Padua (2), Luke (1), Verdegaal (1), and Ben Youngblood (1)
Fourth period: After putting away his first career make in the third, Youngblood (6:59, 3:18) had an answer for the CUI attacks to notch his first career hat-trick. McEwen bounced one into the near side at 2:05, the Golden Eagles let one rip from distance, and J. Dale (0:07) closed us out with a shot from far out, 24-10.
- Youngblood (2), J. Dale (1), and McEwen (1)