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.
Â
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. Â
Â
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
Â
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.
- 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.
- 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)
Â
UP NEXT
No. 6/7 UC Irvine is set to host No. 1/1 inside the Anteater Aquatics Center on Friday Sept. 13 at 1 p.m. for their home opener.
Â