No. 13 UC Irvine Closes UCI Invitational With 16-9 Win Over Concordia

Saturday, August 29

Irvine, Calif.

2:20 P.M.

UC Irvine

3-1

Concordia Irvine

2-2

Team	1	2	3	4	Final F
Concordia	2	1	3	3	9
UC Irvine	3	6	4	3	16

Photo by: Jacob Thompson

No. 13 UC Irvine Closes UCI Invitational With 16-9 Win Over Concordia

August 29, 2026 | Men's Water Polo

Box Score

By: Leah Fitzpatrick

IRVINE, Calif. – No. 13 UC Irvine men's water polo closed out the UCI Invitational with a 16-9 victory over Concordia Saturday afternoon.

The Anteaters jumped out to a 3-2 lead after the opening quarter before breaking the game open in the second. UCI outscored the Golden Eagles, 6-1, in the frame to take a 9-3 advantage into halftime. The 'Eaters continued to control the game in the third quarter, adding four goals while limiting Concordia to three to carry a 13-6 lead into the final frame. Both teams scored three goals in the fourth, as UCI secured the 16-9 victory.

BY THE NUMBERS: Johann Thrall led the Anteaters with four goals, while Gage Verdegaal recorded his second hat trick of the season. Alex Lopez added two goals.

Wyley Dale, Cole Francisco, Ethan Spoon, Ben Atkinson, Andrew Bockstahler, River Davis and Aiden Sexton each found the back of the net once.

In goal, Nico Assalian posted 12 saves to go along with two assists and a steal.

Joao Goncalves paced Concordia with four goals.

HOW IT HAPPENED: The Anteaters struck first when Wyley Dale drew an exclusion, setting up Alex Lopez for a power-play goal at the 5:43 mark. Ethan Spoon drew another exclusion less than a minute later, and Gage Verdegaal converted the man advantage with an assist from Johann Thrall to put UCI ahead, 2-0. Thrall added a goal of his own, assisted by Assalian, at 3:14 to extend the lead to three. Concordia answered with a five-meter goal at 2:30 before adding another with five seconds remaining in the period to pull within one, 3-2.

UCI opened the second quarter with three consecutive goals. Dale drew an exclusion that led to a power-play goal from Ben Atkinson, assisted by Ryan Fresca, at 6:47. Verdegaal scored again at 4:41, with another assist from Fresca, before Spoon found the back of the net at 3:43 following a big stop from Assalian. Concordia responded with a power-play goal at 3:08, but Assalian came up with a steal on the ensuing possession that led to a Thrall goal, assisted by Maddox McEwen. Thrall added another goal at 1:17, and River Davis capped the scoring in the period with 45 seconds remaining, assisted by Assalian, sending the Anteaters into halftime with a 9-3 lead.

Verdegaal completed his hat trick early in the third quarter, converting a power play at 7:18 after Spoon drew an exclusion. Andrew Bockstahler added a goal at 5:15 to make it 11-3.Concordia answered with a five-meter goal at 4:55, but Dale responded with a power-play goal at 4:30, assisted by Thrall. Dale then drew another exclusion, setting up Thrall for his fourth goal of the afternoon at 3:08, assisted by Fresca. The Golden Eagles scored twice in the final 31 seconds of the quarter, but UCI maintained a 13-6 advantage heading into the fourth.

Lopez opened the final frame with a power-play goal at 7:30 after Spoon drew an exclusion. Lopez then drew an exclusion of his own, leading to a power-play goal from Francisco at 6:24 to extend the lead to 15-6. Concordia scored twice in the ensuing minutes, but Dale drew a penalty with 1:26 remaining, setting up Sexton for a five-meter goal to put the Anteaters ahead, 16-8. The Golden Eagles added one final goal with eight seconds remaining, but UCI held on for the 16-9 victory.

UP NEXT
The Anteaters travel to Redlands for the Inland Empire Classic Sept. 4-5. UCI will face Redlands, Cal Lutheran, Claremont-Mudd-Scripps and Pomona-Pitzer during the two-day tournament.