No. 13 Anteaters Drop 24-15 Decision to No. 2 USC

Saturday, September 12

Los Angeles, Calif.

1 P.M.

UC Irvine

7-3

USC

7-0

Team	1	2	3	4	Final F
UC Irvine	2	5	4	4	15
Southern California	5	6	8	5	24

Photo by: Jake Hamlin

No. 13 Anteaters Drop 24-15 Decision to No. 2 USC

September 12, 2026 | Men's Water Polo

Box Score

By: Leah Fitzpatrick

IRVINE Calif. – No. 13 UC Irvine men's water polo fell to No. 2 USC, the nation's second-ranked team, 24-15 on Saturday afternoon at the Uytengsu Aquatics Center in Los Angeles.

The Trojans came out firing, opening the game with five unanswered goals in the first quarter. The 'Eaters responded with two goals in the final second of the period to cut the deficit to 5-2 heading into the second. USC and UCI traded blows in the second quarter, with the Trojans holding a 6-5 edge to take an 11-7 lead into halftime. USC then broke the game open in the third, scoring eight goals while limiting the Anteaters to four to extend its advantage to 19-11. The Trojans continued to pull away in the fourth, outscoring UCI 5-4 to secure the 24-15 victory.

BY THE NUMBERS: Cole Francisco led the 'Eaters with seven points, tallying three goals and four assists. Wyley Dale added five points on three goals and two assists, while Brody Luke also recorded a hat trick.

Alex Lopez contributed four points with two goals and two assists. Samuel Bowman, Ethan Spoon, Gage Verdegaal, and Jayson Hubbard each added a goal.

All three of UCI's goalkeepers saw action against the Trojans, with Vincent Vega leading the way with seven saves and one steal in 16 minutes of action.

USC was led by Robert Lopez Duart, who scored four goals.

HOW IT HAPPENED: The Trojans came out strong, scoring five unanswered goals to open the first quarter. USC struck first at the 7:48 mark before adding another at 6:21. The Trojans then capitalized on a power play at 4:15 and found the back of the net again at 3:33. USC's fifth and final goal of the frame came with 1:11 remaining, giving the Trojans a commanding 5-0 lead. The 'Eaters continued to battle, scoring twice in the final minute to cut the deficit to three. Cole Francisco opened the scoring for UCI at the 0:57 mark, with an assist from Ben Atkinson. With seven seconds remaining, Ethan Spoon added another goal off a pass from Alex Lopez to send the game into the second quarter with USC leading 5-2.

The Trojans opened the second quarter with a goal at the 7:26 mark to extend their lead to 6-2. The 'Eaters quickly responded after Johann Thrall drew an exclusion, allowing Alex Lopez to capitalize on the ensuing power play off an assist from Cole Francisco at 6:34. USC answered with a goal at 5:49, but UCI continued to battle. Brody Luke converted a five-meter attempt at 5:33 to make it 7-4 before drawing another goal on the power play at 4:38. Ben Atkinson drew the exclusion, with Luke finding the back of the net off a pass from Francisco to cut the deficit to 7-5. The Trojans responded with a power-play goal at 4:02, but Wyley Dale capitalized on a 6-on-4 advantage at 3:25 to bring the 'Eaters within two at 8-6. USC then added three consecutive goals, including a power-play tally at 2:53, followed by goals at 2:24 and 0:47 to push its lead to 11-6. UCI closed the half with the final goal of the frame. Lopez drew an exclusion, setting up Dale for his second power-play goal of the quarter with eight seconds remaining. The goal sent the 'Eaters into halftime trailing 11-7.

USC opened the third quarter with two quick goals, scoring at the 7:35 and 6:57 marks to extend its lead to 13-7. The 'Eaters answered when Brody Luke drew an exclusion and converted on the ensuing power play, with an assist from Cole Francisco, at 6:30 to make it 13-8. The Trojans responded with two more goals at 5:56 and 5:07 to maintain their seven-goal advantage. UCI continued to fight back, with Samuel Bowman drawing an exclusion and capitalizing on the ensuing power play, assisted by Francisco, at 4:40. Charlie Jones then drew an exclusion, setting up Francisco for a power-play goal at 3:41 to cut the deficit to 15-10. USC answered with three consecutive goals, including a power-play tally at 3:21, followed by goals at 2:04 and 0:37 to push its lead to 18-10. Alex Lopez then found the back of the net with 22 seconds remaining, with an assist from Gage Verdegaal, to make it 18-11. The Trojans added one final power-play goal with two seconds left in the quarter to take a 19-11 lead into the fourth.

USC opened the fourth quarter with a goal at the 7:12 mark to extend its lead to 20-11. Jayson Hubbard answered for the 'Eaters at 6:49, finding the back of the net off an assist from Wyley Dale. Cole Francisco then added another goal at 4:37, assisted by Maddox McEwen, to cut the deficit to 20-13. The Trojans responded with two goals at 4:09 and 2:58 to maintain their advantage at 22-13. Dale added his third goal of the game at 2:45, with an assist from Alex Lopez, before USC found the back of the net again at 2:21. Gage Verdegaal scored for UCI at 1:23, assisted by Dale, to make it 23-15. USC sealed the victory with the game's final goal, converting on a power play with 1:03 remaining to secure the 24-15 win. The 'Eaters battled throughout, but ultimately could not overcome the No. 2 team in the country.

UP NEXT: The 'Eaters are back in action next weekend, Sept. 18-20, at the MPSF Invitational in Palo Alto, Calif.