LOS ANGELES – No. 8 UC Irvine men's water polo dropped a 14-11 decision to No. 13 LMU to open the Overnght MPSF Invitational Friday at USC's Uytengsu Aquatics Center.
 
The Anteaters (6-3) started strong as back-to-back goals from Cole Francisco and Jack Stevens put them on top 2-1 with 4:35 left in the first quarter. That would be their only lead of the game as the Lions had an answer to every UCI run.
 
The 'Eaters never trailed by more than three and tied it up late in the third quarter before LMU (4-2) outscored UC Irvine, 5-2, over the final nine minutes.
 
BY THE NUMBERS: Junior Alex Lopez and senior Jack Stevens led UCI with two goals apiece. Cole Francisco, Ethan Spoon, Luka Krstic, Gage Verdegaal, Johann Thrall, Maddox McEwen and Jayson Hubbard also found the back of the cage.
 
Tommaso Baldineti paced LMU with five goals, while Alika Naone and Abel Romero Corbalan had three each. Goalkeeper Roberto Barrera Sanchez notched 11 saves.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED: LMU struck first on a penalty goal at the 6:49 mark, but Francisco responded on UC Irvine's ensuing possession. Stevens then gave the Anteaters their only lead of the game with 4:35 remaining. The Lions came back with a 3-0 run to end the first quarter with a 4-2 advantage.
 
Hubbard got the scoring started in the second period and the two teams proceeded to trade goals. A McEwen strike with 1:36 on the clock brought the 'Eaters within one at 6-5. LMU then had possession with 13 seconds to go before UCI came up with a steal. Goalkeeper Zayd Mahmoud then delivered a perfect pass down the length of the pool to Stevens, who lobbed it into the netting as time expired to tie it at 6-all.
 
The Lions took the momentum after the break, opening the third frame on a 3-1 run for a 9-7 edge. Spoon then scored on a feed from Keegan McGann at the 3:44 mark. Less than a minute later, Thrall knotted it up (9-9) by drilling a shot inside the near post. LMU reclaimed a 10-9 lead before the buzzer.
 
The Lions stayed out front the rest of the way, pulling ahead 12-9 midway through the fourth. Lopez got UC Irvine back on the board with just over two minutes remaining, and a Verdegaal tally made it 13-11 at the 1:25 mark, but that was the closest the Anteaters would get as LMU emerged with the 14-11 victory.
 
UP NEXT: UC Irvine returns to Uytengsu Aquatics Center on Saturday, Sept. 20, for a 12:30 p.m. game against No. 17 UC Santa Barbara.
 
NOTES
• Johann Thrall has found the back of the cage in seven-straight outings.
• Jack Stevens also extended his streak to six games with at least one goal scored.
• LMU avenged a 15-14 loss to UCI in the season opener in Irvine on August 29.
• The two teams will meet a third time at LMU in the regular-season finale on Nov. 15.