Men's Water Polo Hosts Pair Of MSPF Foes - UCI Athletics
IRVINE, Calif. – UCI returns to their home pool for a pair of games against MSPF foes in No. 6/6 California (Sept. 27) and No. 3/3 Stanford (Sept. 28).Week Four Notes
THIS WEEKEND
No. 6/6 California vs. No. 8/8 UC Irvine
Friday, September 27 | 1:00 PM | Anteater Aquatics Complex
Watch | Live Stats
No. 3/3 Stanford vs. No. 8/8 UC Irvine
Saturday, September 28 | 12:00 PM | Anteater Aquatics Complex
Watch | Live Stats
THIS WEEK'S STORYLINES
> UC Irvine enters the week ranked eighth in the CWPA Weekly Poll and remain slated eighth in the Association of College Water Polo Coaches poll
> UCI makes their return to the Anteater Aquatics Complex for two games this weekend against MPSF opponents
> No. 6/6 California enters the weekend ranked second in both the CWPA and AWCPA polls
> Cal won their third straight NCAA Championship in 2023
> At the MPSF Invitational, the Golden Bears split the weekend with two wins over then-No. 15 UC San Diego (14-11) and No. 7 Princeton (15-10) and dropped two to No. 1 UCLA (12-7) and No. 2 Stanford (15-10)
> Cal also returns three ACWPC All-Americans in Max Casabella, Roberto Valera, and Albert Ponferrada for the 2024 national title defense
> Casabella leads the Golden Bear offense with 29 goals on the season with Valera next up with 19
> UCI and Cal last met on Sept. 7 at the Triton Invitational. The Anteaters were up 12-10 at the half, but dropped 20-14
> No. 3/3 Stanford comes into the opening weekend ranked third in both the CWPA and ACWPC national rankings
> The Cardinal went 3-1 over the weekend at the MPSF Invitational, collecting wins over No. 10 Long Beach State (14-10), No. 12 UC Davis (19-12), and No. 6 California (15-10) and suffered their lone loss of the season to No. 3 USC, 12-11, in overtime
> Stanford returns Jackson Painter and Riley Pittman, two2023 All-American selections
> Pittman leads the Cardinal with 38 points, 21 goals, and 17 assists with Painter close with 27 points and 19 goals
> West Temkin has seen the most time in the cage with 52 saves in seven games
> The two squads met on Sept. 8 at the Triton Invitational where Stanford took the 14-5 victory
PLAYER NOTES
> UC Irvine went 2-1 at the Big West-WCC Clash, earning victories over No. 15 LMU (12-11) and No. California Baptist (17-15) and dropped to No. 5 Pacific, 16-9
> Against LMU
- UCI found themselves down by as much as six points, 9-3 in the second, but battled back with a nine goal second half including six in the final period to earn the win.
- Luka Krstic and Johann Thrall both notched hat-tricks in the contest and were the only two Anteaters who recorded multiple scores
- Krstic dished out a game high four assists to finish with seven points
- Jacob Pyle played all 32 minutes in the cage where he recorded eight saves
- Pyle and Cole Francisco each tallied a team high three steals
- Freshman Ethan Spoon was integral on offensive, drawing five exclusions that led to scoring opportunities
> Against Pacific
- Attacker Ethan Shipman totaled a team high three points with two goals and one assist
- Wyley Dale also contributed two goals in the contest
- Graduate student Jacob Pyle blocked three shots in 16 minutes of action
- Senior Zayd Mahmoud played the remaining 16 minutes between the pipes and made four saves
- Ethan Spoon continued to remain dominant in center with a game high three drawn exclusions
> Against California Baptist
- Johann Thrall led all players with eight points in the contest, registering his second hat-trick of the weekend, and dished out a game best five assists
- Stewart Campbell also notched a hat-trick, his first of the season
- Cole Francisco, Ethan Shipman, and Jackson Matos each placed two in the back of the cage
- Jacob Pyle went the distance in cage for his fourth double figure save game of the season (11)
> In the Big West as of Sept. 26, several Anteaters rank in the top-10 in several statistical categories: assists (9th- Shipman), field blocks (3rd- Krstic, 9th- Shipman), steals (6th- Francisco, 9th- Pyle), saves (4th- Pyle), and save percentage (5th- Pyle)
