Anteaters Roll to Second Straight Win, Down Kingsmen 19-8

Friday, September 4

Redlands, Calif.

12 P.M.

UC Irvine

5-1

Cal Lutheran

0-1

Team	1	2	3	4	Final F
UC Irvine	7	5	3	4	19
Cal Lutheran	2	2	2	2	8

Photo by: Robert Huskey

Anteaters Roll to Second Straight Win, Down Kingsmen 19-8

September 04, 2026 | Men's Water Polo

Box Score

By: Leah Fitzpatrick

IRVINE, Calif. – No. 13 UC Irvine men's water polo continued its strong showing at the Inland Empire Classic, defeating Cal Lutheran, 19-8, on Friday afternoon.

The 'Eaters held the Kingsmen to just two goals in each quarter while steadily building their advantage throughout the contest. UCI came out firing in the opening frame, scoring seven goals while limiting Cal Lutheran to two to take a commanding 7-2 lead into the second quarter. The Anteaters continued to control the game in the second, outscoring the Kingsmen 5-2 to take a 12-4 advantage into halftime. UCI added three more goals in the third while holding Cal Lutheran to two, carrying a 15-6 lead into the final frame. The 'Eaters capped the afternoon with four goals in the fourth quarter, while once again limiting the Kingsmen to two, to secure the 19-8 victory.

BY THE NUMBERS: Freshman River Davis recorded the first hat trick of his career, while senior Wyley Dale added his second hat trick of the day to lead the 'Eaters' offensive attack.

Alex Lopez, Brody Luke, Ethan Spoon, Ben Atkinson, Johann Thrall, and Charlie Jones each contributed two goals, while Cole Francisco added one.

Jayson Hubbard, Gage Verdegaal, Maddox McEwen, and Dylan Rosmann each recorded two assists.

Junior Nolan Cary made his first start in net this season, turning in a strong performance with 10 saves, an assist, and two steals.

Paul Patterson paced the Kingsmen with three goals.

HOW IT HAPPENED: Ryan Fresca won the opening sprint, setting up Alex Lopez to strike on UCI's first possession. With an assist from Gage Verdegaal, Lopez found the back of the net at the 7:41 mark to put the 'Eaters on the board first. The Kingsmen quickly answered with an equalizer at 7:13, but UCI regained the lead less than 20 seconds later. Wyley Dale drew an exclusion and converted on the ensuing power play at 6:56 to make it 2-1. Cole Francisco followed suit, drawing an exclusion before finding the back of the net on the man advantage at 5:46. Dale added his second goal of the frame at 5:03, assisted by Dylan Rosmann, to extend the lead to 4-1. The 'Eaters continued to capitalize on their opportunities, as Johann Thrall drew an exclusion that led to a power-play goal from River Davis at 4:28, with Jayson Hubbard providing the assist. The Kingsmen answered with a goal at 3:11, but Ethan Spoon restored UCI's four-goal cushion at 2:02, converting on the power play after drawing an exclusion, with another assist from Hubbard. Charlie Jones capped the first-quarter scoring with six seconds remaining, finding the back of the net with help from Keegan McGann to send the Anteaters into the second quarter with a 7-2 lead.

Ben Atkinson opened the second-quarter scoring with back-to-back goals to extend the Anteater advantage. His first came at the 7:01 mark, assisted by Maddox McEwen, before Atkinson struck again at 5:05 to put UCI ahead, 9-2. The Kingsmen answered with a goal at the four-minute mark, but Davis quickly responded with his second goal of the game at 3:14, with Samuel Bowman providing the assist, to restore UCI's seven-goal cushion at 10-3. Cal Lutheran added another tally at 2:46, but the 'Eaters closed the half strong. Charlie Jones drew a penalty that set up Brody Luke for a five-meter conversion at 1:48, and Luke struck again on the power play with 55 seconds remaining to send UCI into halftime with a commanding 12-4 lead.

The 'Eaters and Kingsmen traded goals throughout the third quarter. Dale opened the scoring at the 7:11 mark before Cal Lutheran answered at 6:05 to make it 13-5. Thrall found the back of the net at 4:13, assisted by McEwen, but the Kingsmen responded with a goal of their own at 3:42 to cut the deficit to 14-6. With 39 seconds remaining in the frame, Davis completed the first hat trick of his career, finding the back of the net with an assist from Nolan Cary to send the 'Eaters into the fourth quarter with a 15-6 lead.

Spoon opened the final frame with a goal at the 6:57 mark, assisted by Luke, before Thrall found the back of the net at 6:01 to extend the Anteater advantage to 17-6. Lopez added another tally at 3:21, with Andrew Bockstahler providing the assist, to push the lead to 18-6. The Kingsmen answered with back-to-back goals at 3:01 and 1:53, but Jones capped the scoring with 1:38 remaining to seal the 'Eaters' 19-8 victory.

UP NEXT: The 'Eaters are back in action tomorrow, Sept. 5, for day two of the Inland Empire Classic, when they take on tournament host Claremont-Mudd-Scripps (8 a.m.) and Pomona-Pitzer (2 p.m.).