No. 13 'Eaters Power Past Stags, 12-5

Saturday, September 5

Claremont, CA

8 A.M.

UC Irvine

Claremont-Mudd-Scripps

Team	1	2	3	4	Final F
UC Irvine	5	2	2	3	12
Claremont-Mudd-Scripps	1	1	0	3	5

Gage Verdegaal - UCI vs. Stanford 8-29-26

Photo by: Robert Huskey

No. 13 'Eaters Power Past Stags, 12-5

September 05, 2026 | Men's Water Polo

Box Score

By: Leah Fitzpatrick

IRVINE, Calif. – No. 13 UC Irvine men's water polo team defeated tournament host Claremont-Mudd-Scripps, 12-5, on the second day of the Inland Empire Classic on Saturday morning.

The 'Eaters came out firing in the first quarter, scoring five goals while holding the Stags to just one to take an early 5-1 lead. UCI continued to control the game in the second, limiting the Stags to one goal while adding two of its own to carry a 7-2 advantage into halftime. The Anteaters' defense remained locked in during the third, shutting out the Stags while adding two more goals to extend the lead to 9-2. The teams traded three goals apiece in the fourth, but UCI's early offensive surge proved decisive as the 'Eaters cruised to a 12-5 victory.

BY THE NUMBERS: Senior Gage Verdegaal led the 'Eaters' offense with four points, recording a hat trick and an assist.

Wyley Dale, Cole Francisco, and Ethan Spoon each added two goals, while Alex Lopez, Brody Luke, and Tyler Laymon contributed one goal apiece.

Ryan Fresca posted a three-point outing with a game-high three assists.

Freshman Nico Assalian got the start in goal and made five saves while adding four steals.

Nick Kennedy led the Stags with three goals.

HOW IT HAPPENED: Gage Verdegaal opened the scoring on the power play at the 7:19 mark, finding the back of the net off an assist from Ryan Fresca after Ben Atkinson drew an exclusion. Cole Francisco extended the Anteaters' early lead at 4:28, with Fresca picking up his second assist of the period. Wyley Dale then drew an exclusion and capitalized on the ensuing power play, scoring at the 2:22 mark to make it 3-0. The Stags answered with a goal at 1:35 to cut the deficit to 3-1, but Tyler Laymon quickly responded, drawing an exclusion before converting on the man advantage at 1:23 with an assist from River Davis. With 40 seconds remaining in the period, Ethan Spoon added another goal, assisted by Jayson Hubbard, to give the Anteaters a 5-1 lead heading into the second quarter.

Alex Lopez opened the scoring in the third quarter, converting on a five-meter attempt at the 3:59 mark after Dale drew a penalty. The Stags answered with a goal at 3:23 to cut the Anteaters' lead to 6-2. Spoon capped the first-half scoring with 28 seconds remaining, finding the back of the net off an assist from Laymon to give UCI a 7-2 advantage heading into halftime.

The 'Eaters shut out the Stags in the third quarter while adding two goals of their own, both from Verdegaal to complete his hat trick. He opened the scoring in the period with a five-meter conversion at the 5:51 mark after Lopez drew a penalty. Verdegaal completed the hat trick at 3:31, finding the back of the net off an assist from Fresca to send the 'Eaters into the fourth quarter with a 9-2 advantage.

The 'Eaters and Stags traded goals throughout the fourth quarter, with Dale striking first at the 7:39 mark off an assist from Johann Thrall. The Stags answered at 6:33 to cut the lead to 10-3, but Francisco quickly responded with his second goal of the game at 6:12, with Verdegaal picking up his fourth point on the assist to extend UCI's advantage to 11-3. The Stags added another goal at 3:43 before Brody Luke found the back of the net at 3:19 to add to the 'Eaters' lead. The Stags scored the final goal of the game at 2:12, but it wasn't enough to overcome UCI's early offensive surge, as the 'Eaters cruised to a 12-5 victory.

UP NEXT: The 'Eaters are back in action today at 2 p.m. to take on Pomona-Pitzer in the final game of the Inland Empire Classic.