No. 6 UCI Caps Gary Troyer Invitational With 19-9 Victory

Friday, October 2

Claremont, Calif.

3:15 P.M.

UC Irvine

Cal Lutheran

Team	1	2	3	4	Final F
UC Irvine	6	5	6	2	19
Cal Lutheran	2	2	4	1	9

Photo by: Jacob Thompson/UC Irvine Athletics

No. 6 UCI Caps Gary Troyer Invitational With 19-9 Victory

October 02, 2026 | Men's Water Polo

Box Score

By: Leah Fitzpatrick

CLAREMONT, Calif. – No. 6 UC Irvine men's water polo team defeated Cal Lutheran, 19-9, in their final game of the Gary Troyer Invitational on Friday afternoon.

The 'Eaters outscored the Kingsmen 6-2 in the opening quarter, closing the frame on a 3-0 run to take a 6-2 lead into the second. UCI continued to build its advantage in the second quarter, outscoring Cal Lutheran 5-2 to take an 11-4 lead into halftime. The Anteaters added six goals in the third quarter while the Kingsmen scored four, sending UCI into the final frame with a 17-8 advantage. The 'Eaters then added two more goals in the fourth while holding Cal Lutheran to just one, securing the 19-9 victory.

BY THE NUMBERS: Seniors Wyley Dale and Johann Thrall paced the 'Eaters with three goals apiece, with Thrall also adding an assist for a four-point outing.

Alex Lopez, Brody Luke, and Ben Atkinson each contributed two goals, while Keegan McGann, Ethan Spoon, Andrew Bockstahler, River Davis, Charlie Jones, Luke Kalynij, and Ryan Fresca each found the back of the net once. Gage Verdegaal led the Anteaters with three assists.

Levi Cook led the Kingsmen with three goals.

HOW IT HAPPENED: The 'Eaters struck twice in the opening minute to take an early 2-0 lead. Ethan Spoon opened the scoring at the 7:39 mark off an assist from Gage Verdegaal, before Brody Luke found the back of the net just 25 seconds later, once again with Verdegaal providing the assist. The Kingsmen answered with a goal at the seven-minute mark, but Ben Atkinson restored UCI's two-goal advantage at 5:08, with Verdegaal recording his third assist of the frame to make it 3-1. Cal Lutheran cut the deficit to one with a goal at the 4:43 mark, but the 'Eaters closed out the quarter with three unanswered goals to take a 6-2 lead into the second. Johann Thrall started the scoring run at 3:47, with Alex Lopez earning the assist, before Charlie Jones added a goal with 58 seconds remaining off a pass from Tyler Laymon. Ryan Fresca capped the three-goal spurt with 20 seconds left in the frame, finding the back of the net with help from Nico Assalian to give the Anteaters a 6-2 advantage at the end of the first.

Wyley Dale opened the scoring in the second period, finding the back of the net at the 7:42 mark off a pass from Aiden Sexton. The Kingsmen answered with a goal at 5:09, but Lopez restored UCI's five-goal advantage at 4:06, converting on the power play to make it 8-3. Thrall then added to the lead after Spoon drew an exclusion, with Thrall converting on the ensuing power play at 3:11 to push the advantage to 9-3. Cal Lutheran responded with a power-play goal of its own at 2:39, but Thrall struck again with 14 seconds remaining, scoring his second of the period off a pass from Samuel Bowman to make it 10-4. Atkinson capped the half with a goal in the final second, sending the 'Eaters into the break with an 11-4 lead.

Keegan McGann opened the scoring in the third period at the 7:38 mark, finding the back of the net off an assist from Jayson Hubbard. The Kingsmen answered just 13 seconds later to cut the deficit to 12-5, but Brody Luke restored the Anteaters' seven-goal advantage at 4:23 with a goal assisted by Johann Thrall. Cal Lutheran responded again at 3:49 to make it 13-7. The 'Eaters then erupted for three unanswered goals to pull away. Wyley Dale started the run at 3:06, scoring off a pass from River Davis, before Lopez added another at 2:54 to extend the lead to 15-7. Dale struck again just 28 seconds later, netting his second goal of the period off an assist from Hubbard to make it 16-7. The Kingsmen converted on the power play with 55 seconds remaining to cut the deficit to 16-8, but Luke Kalynij capped the scoring in the final 10 seconds, finding the back of the net off an assist from Andrew Bockstahler to give UCI a 17-8 lead heading into the fourth.

Andrew Bockstahler opened the scoring in the final frame, finding the back of the net at the 5:32 mark to extend UCI's lead to 18-8. The Kingsmen answered with a power-play goal just 23 seconds later to make it 18-9. River Davis capped the scoring at the 2:33 mark, finding the net off an assist from Samuel Bowman to seal the 'Eaters' 19-9 victory.

UP NEXT: The 'Eaters are back in action at Anteater Aquatics Complex on Friday, Oct. 9 at 6 p.m. as they host Cal State Fullerton for the first Big West match of the season.