No. 6 UCI Falls to No. 11 UC San Diego, 16-15

Friday, October 23

Irvine, Calif.

6 P.M.

UC Irvine

16-6, 2-1

UC San Diego

14-6, 2-1

Team	1	2	3	4	Final F
UC San Diego	4	1	7	4	16
UC Irvine	2	3	6	4	15

Photo by: Jacob Thompson

October 23, 2026 | Men's Water Polo

Box Score

By: Leah Fitzpatrick

IRVINE, Calif. – No. 6 UC Irvine men's water polo fell to No. 11 UC San Diego, 16-15, on Friday night at Anteater Aquatics Complex.

The Tritons outscored the Anteaters 4-2 in the opening quarter, using a 3-0 scoring run to establish an early lead. UCI responded in the second quarter, outscoring UC San Diego 3-1 to even the score at 5-5 heading into halftime. Both teams found their offensive rhythm in the third quarter, combining for 13 goals, with the Tritons edging the Anteaters 7-6 to carry a narrow 12-11 advantage into the final frame. The teams continued to trade goals in the fourth, with UC San Diego outscoring UCI 4-3 before a lightning delay interrupted play. After action resumed, the Anteaters netted the only goal in the final two minutes, but the late push fell just short as UCI suffered a heartbreaking 16-15 defeat.

BY THE NUMBERS: Senior Alex Lopez led the Anteaters offensively with seven points, tallying five goals and two assists.

Johann Thrall added four points with three goals and an assist, while Wyley Dale and Cole Francisco contributed two goals apiece.

Brody Luke, Ben Atkinson, and Gage Verdegaal each added a goal to round out the UCI scoring.

For the Tritons, Jackson Boettner paced the offense with five points, recording three goals and two assists.

HOW IT HAPPENED: The Tritons struck first, scoring at the 7:36 mark, before Cole Francisco evened the score at 1-1 with an assist from Gage Verdegaal at 5:24. UC San Diego responded with three unanswered goals at 4:28, 3:42, and 0:49 to take a 4-1 lead. The Anteaters closed out the quarter with a goal of their own, as Wyley Dale drew an exclusion and Alex Lopez converted on the ensuing power play with 24 seconds remaining. Johann Thrall assisted on the tally, cutting the deficit to 4-2 heading into the second quarter.

The Anteaters opened the second quarter with a goal to pull within one. After Francisco drew an exclusion, Ben Atkinson converted on the ensuing power play off an assist from Verdegaal at the 7:18 mark to make it 4-3. The Tritons answered at 5:55, capitalizing on a power play to extend their lead to 5-3. UCI responded with two unanswered goals to even the score at 5-5 before halftime. Thrall found the back of the net at 3:23 off a pass from Lopez to cut the deficit to 5-4. With 2:01 remaining, Jayson Hubbard stole the ball and sent a cross-pool pass to Dale, who finished on the breakaway to tie the game at five heading into the intermission.

UCI took its first lead of the game early in the third quarter when Thrall converted a pass from Verdegaal at the 7:36 mark to make it 6-5. The Tritons answered with three consecutive goals to reclaim the advantage, moving ahead 8-6. The Anteaters responded after Brody Luke drew a penalty and Thrall converted the five-meter attempt at 5:54, bringing UCI within one at 8-7. UC San Diego converted a penalty shot of its own at 4:56 before Lopez found the back of the net at 4:29 off an assist from Hubbard to keep the Anteaters within one, 9-8. The Tritons added another goal at 3:34, but Dale drew an exclusion and Lopez completed his hat trick on the ensuing power play at 3:08 to make it 10-9. UC San Diego then scored twice on the power play at 2:34 and 1:40 to push its lead to 12-9. The Anteaters battled back with two late goals to close the gap before the end of the quarter. Verdegaal converted on the power play at 1:22 off a pass from Francisco, and after Francisco drew a penalty, Luke converted the five-meter attempt with 40 seconds remaining to pull UCI within one, 12-11, heading into the final frame.

The Anteaters opened the fourth quarter with another equalizer. Spoon drew an exclusion, and Lopez scored his fourth goal of the game on the ensuing power play at the 7:35 mark, with Francisco providing the assist to tie the game at 12-12. The Tritons responded with three consecutive goals at 7:09, 6:19, and 5:28 to rebuild their lead at 15-12. UCI refused to back down, as Francisco scored off a pass from Hubbard at 5:01 before Dale added another goal, also assisted by Hubbard, at 2:33 to pull the Anteaters within one at 15-14. UC San Diego answered with a power-play goal at 2:09 to restore its two-goal cushion at 16-14.

The contest was then interrupted by a lightning delay, with play resuming nearly an hour later. Lopez scored the game's final goal with 26 seconds remaining, but the late tally was not enough to complete the comeback as the Anteaters fell just short in a heartbreaking 16-15 defeat.

UP NEXT: The 'Eaters are back in action on Sunday, Oct. 25, as they take on Air Force for their senior day at 12 p.m. at Anteater Aquatics Complex.