No. 8/8 UC Irvine Wins Seventh Straight In Triumph Of SJSU

SAN JOSE, Calif. – No. 8/8 UC Irvine snapped No. 12/13 San Jose State's three-game win streak behind an 11-9 effort on Sunday afternoon at the SRAC.
 
Senior Jack Stevens led the offense with his third goals, his third hat-trick of the season, and an assist for a game high four points.
 
The Anteaters move to 16-7 overall with the win and are riding a seven-game win streak, the longest of any Big West team this season.
 
INSIDE THE NUMBERS

• Stewart Campbell and Johann Thrall made significant contributions, each netting two goals
• Tyler Padua, Cole Francisco, Luka Krstic, and Gage Verdegaal rounded out the scoring with a goal apiece
• UCI out-shot SJSU, 38-27
• Senior Zayd Mahmoud picked up his eighth win of the season where he made nine saves
• Alex Lopez dished a game high two assists
• Jackson Matos stole the ball four times, a career and game best
• Tyler Padua drew three exclusions with Johann Thrall right behind with two drawn kickouts
• Both teams went 2-8 on power play opportunities and 1-1 in penalty shots
• No. 12/13 San Jose State was led by Bence Szabo with two goals on four shots, three drawn exclusions, and one steal

SCORING BREAKDOWN

• First period: Both sides went back-and-forth in the opening eight minutes of action. No. 12/13 San Jose State opened the scoring at 6:58 when they went on the counterattack after blocking two Anteater attempts. No. 8/8 UC Irvine got on the board with a dagger at 5:54 from Cole Francisco. Johann Thrall (2:31) drew the exclusion and found the back of the cage off the pass from Alex Lopez and then Lopez connected with Stewart Campbell with 0:24 on the clock to equalize, 3-3.
  • Campbell (1), Francisco (1), and Thrall (1)
• Second period: The Anteaters started the second period scoring early with a five-meter penalty conversion from Luka Krstic at 7:36. Jack Stevens (6:35) netted one a minute later after his miss to push the UCI advantage to two. The Spartans were able to find the back of the cage on the 6-vs-5 opportunity at 6:11 to move within one, but Stevens (5:55) scored on the next offensive possession and it was the last score for either side in the half, 6-4.
  • Stevens (2) and Krstic (1)
• Third period: UCI's attack was relentless with three unanswered scores (6:25, 5:43, and 3:46), the last a catch and shoot from Gage Verdegaal. SJSU responded to the run with two consecutive scores, but Stevens (0:37) corral of a rebound for the shot put the Anteaters up by four, 10-6.
  • Campbell (1), Stevens (1), Thrall (1), and Verdegaal (1)
• Fourth period: The Spartans made it a three-point game at 6:05 in the final stanza before Tyler Padua (4:04) deposited the ball in the back of the cage off the dish from Stevens to keep UCI ahead by four. A two-goal rally from SJSU in the final three minutes of the contest was not enough as No. 8/8 UC Irvine prevailed, 11-9.
  • Padua (1)

 
UP NEXT
No. 8/8 UC Irvine returns to the Anteater Aquatics Complex for the remainder of the season and kicks off the home action with Cal State Fullerton at 6 p.m. on Nov. 8.