No. 8 'Eaters Finish Big West Undefeated in 21-7 Win over Cal State Fullerton - UCI Athletics

IRVINE, Calif. --- No. 8/8 UC Irvine men's water polo completed their perfect Big West season with a 21-7 victory Friday night over Cal State Fullerton at Anteater Aquatics Complex.

Friday night's match was Senior Night for the Anteaters recognizing seven 'Eaters with five in the starting lineup - Stewart Campbell, Thomas Cass, Jack Stevens, Tyler Padua, and Ethan Shipman - with the senior goalies, Jacob Pyle and Aidan Byrne, splitting time in the cage.

UC Irvine is now 17-7 on the season winning their eighth in a row, still the longest of any Big West school this season.

Inside The Numbers

• Johan Thrall led all scorers with six goals scoring twice in each of the first three quarters
• Stewart Campbell and Jack Stevens each had four-goal matches. Alex Lopez and Ben Youngblood also had two goals each
• UCI out-shot Cal State Fullerton, 36-21, making 58.3% percent of their shots
• Pyle and Byrne came together for eight saves in net with Pyle collecting the victory
• Pyle joined Cole Francisco with a pair of assists each of the 10 'Eaters with an assist
• UC Irvine totaled 12 steals with multiples for Lopez, Stevens, Youngblood, and Luka Krstic
• Tyler Padua drew three exclusions to lead the squad that drew 11 as a team
• The 'Eaters were 5 of 11 on the power play in the match and allowed just one goal on nine penalty kill opportunities. The Titans earned two penalty shots burying each of them
• Cal State Fullerton was led by Julian Nichols with two goals and an assist with Alec Isaacman scoring twice himself. Garrett Henderson in net stopped nine shots

Scoring Breakdown

• First Quarter: Each team scored on their first shot with Jack Stevens burying the opener at 7:39 followed by the Titans tying it at 7:12. Stewart Campbell got the lead back at 6:45 and the 'Eaters never looked back with the next five goals from Stevens (3:55), Johann Thrall (3:35 and 1:07), Jackson Matos (2:48), and Cole Francisco (0:28). Jacob Pyle knocked down four shots in the opening period
  • Stevens (2), Thrall (2), Campbell (1), Matos (1), Francisco (1)
• Second Quarter: Stewart Campbell scored his second of the game at 6:08 in the second to start the scoring. Alex Lopez added the second goal on a counter at 3:22, and 19 seconds later another countered got Thrall his third of the night. The Titans broke the string of nine straight Anteater goals at 1:27, but Thrall netted his fourth at 0:43, and Lopez closed out the period at 0:19 with another to make it 12-2
  • Thrall (2), Lopez (2), Campbell (1)
• Third Quarter: Campbell collected his hat trick at 7:26 on a power play. Cal State Fullerton put in a penalty shot at 7:09. The teams continued to trade scores with Stevens at 6:30, Fullerton again at 6:00, and Campbell's fourth of the match at 4:47. Thrall's fifth at 3:30 broke the trend, and he had another trickle over the line at 2:51 leading the charge for the final three goals of the period and a 17-4 edge
  • Thrall (2), Campbell (2), Stevens (1)
• Fourth Quarter: The Titans skipped home the opening goal of the fourth at 5:10 and added to it at 4:06 and a penalty conversion at 3:26. The 'Eaters broke the string with two straight Ben Youngblood strikes at 3:00 and again at 2:08, the 20th goal of the night at 1:22 for Ethan Spoon, and the final goal from Stevens at 0:30
  • Youngblood (2), Spoon (1), Stevens (1)

Up Next
No. 8/8 UC Irvine is back in Anteater Aquatics Complex tomorrow with a 5:00 p.m. matchup with Whittier.