No. 9 'Eaters Fall to No. 12 Long Beach State Despite Late Rally

Friday, November 6

Long Beach, Calif.

7 P.M.

UC Irvine

17-7, 2-2

Long Beach State

15-8, 1-3

Team	1	2	3	4	Final F
UC Irvine	1	2	3	4	10
Long Beach State	4	4	4	0	12

November 06, 2026 | Men's Water Polo

Box Score

By: Leah Fitzpatrick

LONG BEACH, Calif. – No. 9 UC Irvine men's water polo fell to No. 12 Long Beach State, 12-10, Friday night in its final Big West matchup of the season.

The Beach held the 'Eaters scoreless through the opening six minutes while building a 3-0 lead before UCI got on the board to cut the deficit to two, 3-1. Long Beach State added one more goal before the end of the first period to take a 4-1 advantage. The Beach continued to build its lead, outscoring the Anteaters 4-2 in the second period and 4-3 in the third to carry a 12-6 advantage into the final frame. UCI mounted a late rally, shutting out Long Beach State while scoring four unanswered goals in the fourth quarter, but the comeback fell short as the Anteaters dropped a 12-10 decision.

BY THE NUMBERS: Alex Lopez led the 'Eaters offensively with four points, recording three goals and one assist. Brody Luke added two goals, while Gage Verdegaal, Johann Thrall, Charlie Jones, Jayson Hubbard and Ryan Fresca each contributed one tally.

Gabi Acosta paced Long Beach State with a game-high four goals.

HOW IT HAPPENED: Long Beach State opened the contest with three unanswered goals, keeping the 'Eaters off the scoreboard through the first six minutes of the opening period. The Beach struck at the 6:42, 4:10 and 3:55 marks to take an early 3-0 advantage. UC Irvine responded at the 1:51 mark when Johann Thrall found the back of the net off an assist from Ryan Fresca to put the 'Eaters on the board, 3-1. Long Beach State added one more goal at the 1:28 mark to close out the first period with a 4-1 lead.

The Beach opened the second period with another goal at the 6:42 mark to extend its advantage to 5-1. The 'Eaters answered with back-to-back goals, as Brody Luke scored off a pass from Alex Lopez at the 4:47 mark before Charlie Jones found the net with help from Ben Atkinson at 3:05 to cut the deficit to two, 5-3. Long Beach State closed out the half with three consecutive goals, scoring at the 2:26, 1:08 and 0:04 marks to carry an 8-3 lead into halftime.

Luke opened the third period with his second goal of the night, converting a pass from Atkinson at the 7:31 mark to bring UCI within four, 8-4. Long Beach State responded with a goal at 5:42, but the Anteaters quickly answered on the power play. After Atkinson drew an exclusion, Lopez capitalized on the ensuing opportunity, scoring off an assist from Cole Francisco at the 5:13 mark to make it 9-5. The Beach added two more goals at 4:49 and 3:26, the latter coming on the power play, to extend its lead to 11-5. Fresca responded for the 'Eaters with a goal at the 2:10 mark, but Long Beach State added the final tally of the period at 1:48 to take a 12-6 advantage into the fourth.

The Anteaters mounted a late comeback in the fourth period, shutting out the Beach while scoring four unanswered goals. Gage Verdegaal got things started at the 6:11 mark, finding the net off an assist from River Davis. Lopez followed with a successful five-meter penalty shot at 5:22 to bring UCI within four, 12-8. The 'Eaters continued to chip away at the deficit when Maddox McEwen drew an exclusion, setting up Jayson Hubbard to convert on the ensuing power play off an assist from Thrall at the 4:12 mark, cutting the lead to three, 12-9. Lopez added one final goal with just one second remaining, assisted by Francisco, as UC Irvine's late rally fell short in a 12-10 decision.

UP NEXT: The Anteaters close out the regular season at home against No. 13 Pacific on Friday, Nov. 13 at 6 p.m. at Anteater Aquatics Complex.