Friday, November 13
Irvine, Calif.
6 P.M.
UC Irvine
vs
Pacific
Photo by: Jacob Thompson/UC Irvine Athletics
November 12, 2026 | Men's Water Polo
IRVINE, Calif. - The No. 12 UC Irvine men's water polo team returns to action Friday, Nov. 13, hosting No. 18 Pacific at the Anteater Aquatics Complex for its final regular-season matchup of the season.
ANTEATER TIDBITS
UC Irvine moved to 17-8 overall and 2-3 in Big West play after falling to No. 12 Long Beach State last week.
The Anteaters dropped the conference match up to the Beach, 10-12, on Friday, Nov. 6.
Senior Alex Lopez led the offense with four points on three goals and one assist.
Junior Brody Luke added two goals.
UC Irvine won back-to-back Big West regular season titles in 2023 and 2024.
The Anteaters are 9-1 in conference during that stretch, including a perfect 5-0 mark in 2024.
They also claimed the Big West Championship title and made their first NCAA appearance in 30 years in 2023.
IN THE RANKINGS
UC Irvine fell to No. 12 in the Collegiate Water Polo Association's national rankings released Nov. 11, dropping from No. 9 in Week 10 and No. 8 in Week 9. The Anteaters held the No. 6 spot for four consecutive weeks after climbing from No. 8 in Week 4. UCI began the season at No. 13, maintaining that ranking throughout the preseason and the first three weekly polls before breaking into the top 10.
SCOUTING THE TIGERS
No. 18 Pacific enters Friday's matchup with a 10-10 overall record after dropping its last two contests. The Tigers fell to No. 16 Pepperdine, 13-10, on Nov. 8, following a 12-8 loss to No. 18 Santa Clara on Nov. 6. Sophomore Borisz Kasa-Ga leads Pacific offensively with 54 goals and 16 assists for a team-high 70 points. Freshman Gabor Holl has also totaled 70 points this season, recording 39 goals and 31 assists. Sophomore Petar Popovic ranks third on the team with 63 points, tallying 29 goals and 34 assists. In goal, sophomore Gergely Kiss leads the Tigers with more than 444 minutes played. He has recorded 157 saves while posting a 14.26 goals-against average and a .442 save percentage.
SERIES HISTORY
Pacific holds a 19-12 advantage in the all-time series against UC Irvine and has won the last three meetings between the programs. The teams last faced off on Sept. 21, 2024, with the Tigers earning a 16-9 victory. Pacific also claimed both matchups during the 2022 season, defeating the Anteaters 18-13 on Oct. 28 before securing a 13-10 win on Nov. 19. UC Irvine's last victory over Pacific came during the 2021 season, when the Anteaters edged the Tigers, 17-16, on Nov. 6.
OFFENSIVE FIREPOWER
The 'Eaters have been an offensive force this season, scoring at least 11 goals in 21 of their 25 games while averaging 14.3 goals per contest. Five Anteaters have surpassed the 30-goal mark, led by Alex Lopez with 50 goals and 19 assists for a team-high 69 points. Johann Thrall follows closely with 48 goals and 19 assists for 67 points, while Cole Francisco also has 67 points, recording 37 goals and 30 assists. Wyley Dale has added 36 goals, and Brody Luke rounds out the top five with 30 goals on the season. Several Anteaters have already surpassed their previous single-season career highs, including Lopez, who has more than doubled his previous best of 19 goals, Francisco, who has eclipsed his previous mark of 31, and Luke, who has surpassed his previous high of 11 goals. UC Irvine has also outscored its opponents in all four quarters this season, holding a 96-72 advantage in the first, a 77-62 edge in the second, a 95-69 margin in the third, and an 87-67 advantage in the fourth.
MINDING THE NET
Freshman Nico Assalian has started 20 of the team's 25 games this season, compiling a 13-6 record. He has played 592 minutes in goal, recording 149 saves, 13 assists, and 20 steals while posting a 10.16 goals-against average and a .442 save percentage. Sophomore Vincent Vega has appeared in 10 games, including three starts, totaling over 156 minutes in goal. He has recorded 45 saves, two assists, and three steals, along with a 9.18 goals-against average and a .500 save percentage. Junior Nolan Cary has seen action in five games, making two starts and playing over 51 minutes. He has tallied 15 saves, two steals and posted a .417 save percentage and a 13.13 goals-against average.
COLLEGIATE FIRSTS
UCI's freshmen made an immediate impact during their first season of collegiate action. Ryan Fresca has led the group with 25 points on 20 assists and five goals. He opened his career with three points on one goal and two assists against Chapman on Aug. 28 and has recorded two or more assists in five of UCI's first eight games. River Davis ranks second among the newcomers with 15 points on 10 goals and five assists. He scored his first collegiate goal against George Washington on Aug. 28 before adding his second goal and first assist against Concordia the following day for his first multi-point game. Davis became UCI's first freshman this season to record a hat trick, accomplishing the feat against Cal Lutheran on Sept. 4. Aiden Sexton also made an immediate impact, scoring twice and adding two assists against Chapman on Aug. 28 before netting his third goal of the season against Concordia on Aug. 29. He has totaled five points on three goals and two assists. Luke Kalynij scored the first goal of his collegiate career against Chapman on Aug. 28, while Noah Jurgensen recorded his first collegiate assist in his first career minutes against the Panthers. Charlie Jones capped a strong opening weekend for UCI's freshmen with the first two goals of his career, scoring against Chapman and George Washington on Aug. 28 after sitting out the 2025 season. He added two more goals against Cal Lutheran on Sept. 4 for the first multi-goal game of his career. Jones also recorded his first career hat trick against Whittier on Oct. 2.
WEEKLY AWARDS
Alex Lopez picked up his first career Big West Player of the Week honor on Sept. 30. He led the Anteaters to a perfect 3-0 weekend against three ranked opponents, totaling 12 points on seven goals and five assists. Lopez opened the weekend with a five-point performance, scoring four goals and adding an assist in UCI's 13-8 victory over No. 11 LMU on Saturday. Later that day, Lopez contributed one goal and three assists in a four-point effort as the Anteaters edged No. 17 Santa Clara, 14-13. The senior attacker capped the weekend with three points on two goals and one assist in UCI's 11-10 win over No. 18 Navy.
PRESEASON HONORS
Junior Cole Francisco was named to the eight-member Preseason All-Big West Team as voted on by the conference's head coaches. Francisco is coming off a 2025 campaign in which he totaled 69 points on 31 goals and a team-high 38 assists. He is a three-time All-Big West honoree, a two-time Big West Player of the Week selection, and landed on both the CSC Academic All-District At-Large Team and the ACWPC All-Academic Team in the 2025 season.
UP NEXT
The Anteaters will turn their focus to postseason play, heading to Long Beach State for the Big West Championship, Nov. 20-22.
ANTEATER TIDBITS
UC Irvine moved to 17-8 overall and 2-3 in Big West play after falling to No. 12 Long Beach State last week.
The Anteaters dropped the conference match up to the Beach, 10-12, on Friday, Nov. 6.
Senior Alex Lopez led the offense with four points on three goals and one assist.
Junior Brody Luke added two goals.
UC Irvine won back-to-back Big West regular season titles in 2023 and 2024.
The Anteaters are 9-1 in conference during that stretch, including a perfect 5-0 mark in 2024.
They also claimed the Big West Championship title and made their first NCAA appearance in 30 years in 2023.
IN THE RANKINGS
UC Irvine fell to No. 12 in the Collegiate Water Polo Association's national rankings released Nov. 11, dropping from No. 9 in Week 10 and No. 8 in Week 9. The Anteaters held the No. 6 spot for four consecutive weeks after climbing from No. 8 in Week 4. UCI began the season at No. 13, maintaining that ranking throughout the preseason and the first three weekly polls before breaking into the top 10.
SCOUTING THE TIGERS
No. 18 Pacific enters Friday's matchup with a 10-10 overall record after dropping its last two contests. The Tigers fell to No. 16 Pepperdine, 13-10, on Nov. 8, following a 12-8 loss to No. 18 Santa Clara on Nov. 6. Sophomore Borisz Kasa-Ga leads Pacific offensively with 54 goals and 16 assists for a team-high 70 points. Freshman Gabor Holl has also totaled 70 points this season, recording 39 goals and 31 assists. Sophomore Petar Popovic ranks third on the team with 63 points, tallying 29 goals and 34 assists. In goal, sophomore Gergely Kiss leads the Tigers with more than 444 minutes played. He has recorded 157 saves while posting a 14.26 goals-against average and a .442 save percentage.
SERIES HISTORY
Pacific holds a 19-12 advantage in the all-time series against UC Irvine and has won the last three meetings between the programs. The teams last faced off on Sept. 21, 2024, with the Tigers earning a 16-9 victory. Pacific also claimed both matchups during the 2022 season, defeating the Anteaters 18-13 on Oct. 28 before securing a 13-10 win on Nov. 19. UC Irvine's last victory over Pacific came during the 2021 season, when the Anteaters edged the Tigers, 17-16, on Nov. 6.
OFFENSIVE FIREPOWER
The 'Eaters have been an offensive force this season, scoring at least 11 goals in 21 of their 25 games while averaging 14.3 goals per contest. Five Anteaters have surpassed the 30-goal mark, led by Alex Lopez with 50 goals and 19 assists for a team-high 69 points. Johann Thrall follows closely with 48 goals and 19 assists for 67 points, while Cole Francisco also has 67 points, recording 37 goals and 30 assists. Wyley Dale has added 36 goals, and Brody Luke rounds out the top five with 30 goals on the season. Several Anteaters have already surpassed their previous single-season career highs, including Lopez, who has more than doubled his previous best of 19 goals, Francisco, who has eclipsed his previous mark of 31, and Luke, who has surpassed his previous high of 11 goals. UC Irvine has also outscored its opponents in all four quarters this season, holding a 96-72 advantage in the first, a 77-62 edge in the second, a 95-69 margin in the third, and an 87-67 advantage in the fourth.
MINDING THE NET
Freshman Nico Assalian has started 20 of the team's 25 games this season, compiling a 13-6 record. He has played 592 minutes in goal, recording 149 saves, 13 assists, and 20 steals while posting a 10.16 goals-against average and a .442 save percentage. Sophomore Vincent Vega has appeared in 10 games, including three starts, totaling over 156 minutes in goal. He has recorded 45 saves, two assists, and three steals, along with a 9.18 goals-against average and a .500 save percentage. Junior Nolan Cary has seen action in five games, making two starts and playing over 51 minutes. He has tallied 15 saves, two steals and posted a .417 save percentage and a 13.13 goals-against average.
COLLEGIATE FIRSTS
UCI's freshmen made an immediate impact during their first season of collegiate action. Ryan Fresca has led the group with 25 points on 20 assists and five goals. He opened his career with three points on one goal and two assists against Chapman on Aug. 28 and has recorded two or more assists in five of UCI's first eight games. River Davis ranks second among the newcomers with 15 points on 10 goals and five assists. He scored his first collegiate goal against George Washington on Aug. 28 before adding his second goal and first assist against Concordia the following day for his first multi-point game. Davis became UCI's first freshman this season to record a hat trick, accomplishing the feat against Cal Lutheran on Sept. 4. Aiden Sexton also made an immediate impact, scoring twice and adding two assists against Chapman on Aug. 28 before netting his third goal of the season against Concordia on Aug. 29. He has totaled five points on three goals and two assists. Luke Kalynij scored the first goal of his collegiate career against Chapman on Aug. 28, while Noah Jurgensen recorded his first collegiate assist in his first career minutes against the Panthers. Charlie Jones capped a strong opening weekend for UCI's freshmen with the first two goals of his career, scoring against Chapman and George Washington on Aug. 28 after sitting out the 2025 season. He added two more goals against Cal Lutheran on Sept. 4 for the first multi-goal game of his career. Jones also recorded his first career hat trick against Whittier on Oct. 2.
WEEKLY AWARDS
Alex Lopez picked up his first career Big West Player of the Week honor on Sept. 30. He led the Anteaters to a perfect 3-0 weekend against three ranked opponents, totaling 12 points on seven goals and five assists. Lopez opened the weekend with a five-point performance, scoring four goals and adding an assist in UCI's 13-8 victory over No. 11 LMU on Saturday. Later that day, Lopez contributed one goal and three assists in a four-point effort as the Anteaters edged No. 17 Santa Clara, 14-13. The senior attacker capped the weekend with three points on two goals and one assist in UCI's 11-10 win over No. 18 Navy.
PRESEASON HONORS
Junior Cole Francisco was named to the eight-member Preseason All-Big West Team as voted on by the conference's head coaches. Francisco is coming off a 2025 campaign in which he totaled 69 points on 31 goals and a team-high 38 assists. He is a three-time All-Big West honoree, a two-time Big West Player of the Week selection, and landed on both the CSC Academic All-District At-Large Team and the ACWPC All-Academic Team in the 2025 season.
UP NEXT
The Anteaters will turn their focus to postseason play, heading to Long Beach State for the Big West Championship, Nov. 20-22.
Players Mentioned
Goalkeeper
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Goalkeeper
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Center
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Attacker
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Utility
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Attacker
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Center
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Defender
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Utility
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Attacker
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Utility
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Attacker
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Attacker
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Goalkeeper
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