UCI Falls To No. 3/3 Stanford

IRVINE, Calif. – No. 8/8 UC Irvine dropped 15-10 to No. 3/3 Stanford in a Saturday matinee inside the Anteater Aquatics Complex.
 
INSIDE THE NUMBERS

• Ten different Anteaters scored in the contest
• Attacker Keegan McGann tallied his first career goal
• Senior Zayd Mahmoud made the start in cage and stopped eight shots
• Graduate student Jacob Pyle played the remaining 16 minutes in net recording three stops
• Johann Thrall dished out a team high two assists
• Wyley Dale drew a team best three exclusions
• Both sides converted on three of their power play opportunities
• No. 3/3 Stanford was led by Riley Pittman who recorded four goals on five shots and two assists

SCORING BREAKDOWN

• First period: No. 3/3 Stanford went out in front 2-1 within the first two and a half minutes, but Gage Verdegaal (4:24) snuck on the nearside on the catch and shoot to bring the game within one. The Cardinal poured in four unanswered in the remaining four minutes to go up 6-1.
  • Verdegaal (1)
• Second period: Each side saw three go in during the second stanza. Stanford continued their run with a tally at 7:13. Then, at 4:59, Cole Francisco drew an exclusion and then picked up the ball to rip it from long range. Starting with the Stanford goal at 2:24, both teams responded to the scoring on their offensive possessions. Ethan Spoon (1:50) was fed in the middle where he lifted and then Padua (1:16) received the ball in center as the Anteaters trailed, 9-4.
  • Francisco (1), Padua (1), and Spoon (1)
• Third period: The Dale brothers carried the scoring for UCI for most of the third period. Sophomore Wyley Dale was in the right place at the right time at 5:11 to push the ball into the cage off the deflection for the score before Jasper Dale (3:01) juked out the defense on the far side for the cross-cage dagger. After calling a timeout to draw up a play, Luka Krstic placed the ball in the upper shelf with 31 seconds left to bring the game to 13-7.
  • J. Dale (1), W. Dale (1), and Krstic (1)
• Fourth period: No. 8/8 UC Irvine outscored the Cardinal 3-2 in the last eight minutes of action. A pass into Samuel Otta at 4:02 for the leaning push started the Anteater scoring. Next up was Johann Thrall (2:58) with his shot that hit the crossbar and then ricocheted into the cage. Closing out the UCI scoring was Keegan McGann (1:52) who used the water to bounce the ball in as the Anteaters dropped 15-10.
  • McGann (1), Otta (1), and Thrall (1)

 
UP NEXT
The Anteaters head over to the Gary Troyer Invitational (Oct. 4-5) to round out the non-conference tournament portion of the schedule.