Saturday, September 19
Palo Alto, Calif.
1:40 P.M.
UC Irvine
9
vs
11
UC San Diego
Photo by: Jacob Thompson/UC Irvine Athletics
UCI Comes Up Short Against No. 9 UC San Diego, 11-9
September 19, 2026 | Men's Water Polo
STANFORD, Calif – The UC Irvine men's water polo team fell to No. 9 UC San Diego, 11-9, in the final game of day two of the MPSF Invitational.
The Tritons took a 2-1 lead into the second quarter. UC San Diego added four goals in the second frame, while UCI answered with three to take a 6-4 deficit into halftime. The 'Eaters rallied in the third quarter, outscoring the Tritons 5-3 and reclaiming the lead at several points before ultimately entering the fourth quarter down by just one, 9-8. UC San Diego added two goals in the final frame while limiting the Anteaters to one, securing the 11-9 victory.
BY THE NUMBERS: Johann Thrall led the way with three goals.
Alex Lopez and Samuel Bowman each netted two. Jayson Hubbard, Cole Francisco, and Ethan Spoon each added one tally.
HOW IT HAPPENED: The Tritons struck first at the 7:00 mark, taking an early 1-0 lead before adding another tally at 4:15 to extend their advantage to 2-0. The 'Eaters answered with 3:32 remaining in the period, as Jayson Hubbard converted on the man advantage off an assist from Samuel Bowman to cut the deficit to 2-1 heading into the second frame.
The Tritons opened the second period with four unanswered goals, finding the back of the net at 6:42, 5:40, 5:15, and 3:13 to build a 6-1 lead. The 'Eaters responded with three unanswered goals of their own to close out the second frame. Samuel Bowman got the comeback started at the 2:45 mark, before Johann Thrall converted on the power play at 2:03, with an assist from Alex Lopez. Thrall struck again with 1:02 remaining in the period, cutting the deficit to 6-4 at the end of the half.
Lopez found the back of the net at the 6:30 mark, with an assist from Gage Verdegaal, to pull the 'Eaters within one at 6-5. Ethan Spoon followed with the equalizer at 5:08, tying the game at 6-6. Just 18 seconds later, Lopez struck again, scoring his second goal of the frame off a feed from Cole Francisco to put the Anteaters back in front, 7-6. The Tritons answered on the man advantage at the 4:13 mark to even the score at 7-7. Francisco then converted off a pass from Verdegaal with 1:55 remaining to reclaim the lead for the Anteaters, 8-7. The Tritons scored twice in the final 1:13, including a goal with just one second remaining in the quarter, to take a 9-8 lead into the fourth.
Thrall found the back of the net at the 4:37 mark, converting off an assist from Tyler Laymon to even the score at 9-9. The Tritons responded with two unanswered goals to reclaim the lead and secure an 11-9 victory.
UP NEXT: The 'Eaters are back in action tomorrow at 9:30 a.m. as they take on the loser of No. 11 San Jose State vs. No. 6 Long Beach State for the 7th place game of the MPSF Invitational.
The Tritons took a 2-1 lead into the second quarter. UC San Diego added four goals in the second frame, while UCI answered with three to take a 6-4 deficit into halftime. The 'Eaters rallied in the third quarter, outscoring the Tritons 5-3 and reclaiming the lead at several points before ultimately entering the fourth quarter down by just one, 9-8. UC San Diego added two goals in the final frame while limiting the Anteaters to one, securing the 11-9 victory.
BY THE NUMBERS: Johann Thrall led the way with three goals.
Alex Lopez and Samuel Bowman each netted two. Jayson Hubbard, Cole Francisco, and Ethan Spoon each added one tally.
HOW IT HAPPENED: The Tritons struck first at the 7:00 mark, taking an early 1-0 lead before adding another tally at 4:15 to extend their advantage to 2-0. The 'Eaters answered with 3:32 remaining in the period, as Jayson Hubbard converted on the man advantage off an assist from Samuel Bowman to cut the deficit to 2-1 heading into the second frame.
The Tritons opened the second period with four unanswered goals, finding the back of the net at 6:42, 5:40, 5:15, and 3:13 to build a 6-1 lead. The 'Eaters responded with three unanswered goals of their own to close out the second frame. Samuel Bowman got the comeback started at the 2:45 mark, before Johann Thrall converted on the power play at 2:03, with an assist from Alex Lopez. Thrall struck again with 1:02 remaining in the period, cutting the deficit to 6-4 at the end of the half.
Lopez found the back of the net at the 6:30 mark, with an assist from Gage Verdegaal, to pull the 'Eaters within one at 6-5. Ethan Spoon followed with the equalizer at 5:08, tying the game at 6-6. Just 18 seconds later, Lopez struck again, scoring his second goal of the frame off a feed from Cole Francisco to put the Anteaters back in front, 7-6. The Tritons answered on the man advantage at the 4:13 mark to even the score at 7-7. Francisco then converted off a pass from Verdegaal with 1:55 remaining to reclaim the lead for the Anteaters, 8-7. The Tritons scored twice in the final 1:13, including a goal with just one second remaining in the quarter, to take a 9-8 lead into the fourth.
Thrall found the back of the net at the 4:37 mark, converting off an assist from Tyler Laymon to even the score at 9-9. The Tritons responded with two unanswered goals to reclaim the lead and secure an 11-9 victory.
UP NEXT: The 'Eaters are back in action tomorrow at 9:30 a.m. as they take on the loser of No. 11 San Jose State vs. No. 6 Long Beach State for the 7th place game of the MPSF Invitational.
Players Mentioned
Attacker
/ Men's Water Polo
Attacker
/ Men's Water Polo
Attacker
/ Men's Water Polo
Defender
/ Men's Water Polo
Attacker
/ Men's Water Polo
Utility
/ Men's Water Polo
Attacker
/ Men's Water Polo
Attacker
/ Men's Water PoloMonday, April 20
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