Anteaters Take Down No. 11 LMU, 13-8, at UCI Mini Tournament

Saturday, September 26

Irvine, Calif.

10:20 A.M.

UC Irvine

10-5

LMU

7-5

Team	1	2	3	4	Final F
Loyola Marymount	3	0	2	3	8
UC Irvine	2	3	4	4	13

Photo by: Jacob Thompson/UC Irvine Athletics

Anteaters Take Down No. 11 LMU, 13-8, at UCI Mini Tournament

September 26, 2026 | Men's Water Polo

Box Score

By: Leah Fitzpatrick

IRVINE, Calif. – UC Irvine men's water polo defeated No. 11 LMU, 13-8, at the UCI Mini Tournament at Anteater Aquatics Complex on Saturday morning.

The Anteaters and Lions traded goals throughout the opening period, with LMU holding a 3-2 advantage at the end of the first frame. UCI tightened up defensively in the second quarter, limiting the Lions to just one goal while adding three of its own to take a 5-3 lead into halftime. The 'Eaters continued to build momentum in the third, outscoring LMU 4-2 to extend their advantage to 9-5 heading into the final period. UCI closed out the game with a 4-3 edge in the fourth quarter, pulling away late to secure the 13-8 victory.

BY THE NUMBERS: Senior Alex Lopez led the 'Eaters with five points, recording four goals and one assist, while junior Cole Francisco added a hat trick.

Ben Atkinson contributed two goals, while Samuel Bowman, Brody Luke, Maddox McEwen, and Jayson Hubbard each found the back of the net once. Johann Thrall dished out a team-high three assists.

In goal, freshman Nico Assalian made seven saves to help secure the victory.

Luka Dimic paced the Lions with two goals.

HOW IT HAPPENED: The 'Eaters got on the board first when Johann Thrall drew an exclusion and Alex Lopez converted on the ensuing power play, with Thrall earning the assist, to give UCI an early 1-0 lead at the 7:27 mark. The Lions responded at 5:13 to even the score, but Brody Luke answered just 21 seconds later at 4:52 to restore the Anteaters' lead, 2-1. LMU closed the period with two goals at 2:58 and 1:49 to take a 3-2 lead into the second quarter.

Jayson Hubbard opened the second-quarter scoring, finding the back of the net at the 6:20 mark to knot the game at 3-3. Thrall drew another exclusion, setting up Samuel Bowman for a power-play goal at 4:08 to put the Anteaters back in front, 4-3. Cole Francisco capped the scoring in the first half, finding the back of the net off a pass from Maddox McEwen at 2:49 to extend UCI's lead to 5-3 at halftime.

Ben Atkinson opened the third-quarter scoring with a power-play goal at 6:19, assisted by Thrall, after Ethan Spoon drew the exclusion, extending the Anteaters' lead to 6-4. The Lions responded with back-to-back goals at 5:53 and 4:35 to cut the deficit to one, 6-5. The Anteaters answered with three unanswered goals to close out the quarter and take control heading into the fourth. Lopez converted on the man advantage at 3:33 after Hubbard drew the exclusion to make it 7-5, then scored again with 50 seconds remaining to extend the lead to 8-5. Francisco capped the three-goal run with a five-meter penalty shot with 14 seconds remaining after River Davis drew the penalty foul, sending the 'Eaters into the fourth with a 9-5 advantage.

UCI outscored LMU 4-3 in the fourth quarter to secure the 13-7 victory. Francisco opened the scoring at 6:42, finding the back of the net off a pass from Lopez to put the Anteaters in double figures and extend their lead to 10-5. Lopez added his fourth goal of the game at 4:18 to make it 11-5, before Atkinson scored at 2:36 off an assist from Thrall to push the lead to 12-5. The Lions answered at 2:02 to cut the deficit to 12-6, but McEwen quickly restored the Anteaters' six-goal cushion at 1:34, making it 13-6. LMU scored twice more in the final 1:03, including a power-play goal and a goal with four seconds remaining, but the Lions' late push wasn't enough to overcome UCI's second-half surge as the 'Eaters secured the 13-7 victory.

UP NEXT: The 'Eaters are back in action later today at 3 p.m. as they close out the UCI Mini Invitational against No. 17 Santa Clara at Anteater Aquatics Complex.