UCI Falls To Long Beach State In Regular Season Finale

IRVINE, Calif. – No. 8/6 UC Irvine could not find their offensive rhythm in a 15-6 loss to Black and Blue rival No. 12/9 Long Beach State on Friday evening.
 
The Anteaters hosted an Anteater Aquatics Complex capacity crowd (500 spectators) to close out the regular season.
 
INSIDE THE NUMBERS

• Six UCI players scored in the contest
• Johann Thrall and Jasper Dale dished out an assist each
• Jacob Pyle played the first three periods where he made four saves
• Zayd Mahmoud came into the cage for the remaining eight minutes to block a shot
• Tyler Padua drew a game best five exclusions
• Luka Krstic stole the ball twice, a game high
• No. 12/9 Long Beach State was led by Caleb Francisco with five goals on eight shots

SCORING BREAKDOWN

• First period: Both teams were held off on the board until the 3:57 mark when No. 12/9 Long Beach State ripped into the upper right corner. The Beach then posted two more scores (2:55, 1:47) to take the 3-0 advantage. No. 8/6 UC Irvine had plenty of close-range shots in the opening action with their last chance swept up by the LBSU keeper at the goal line.
• Second period: LBSU placed their fourth goal into the cage before Alex Lopez (6:13) lifted after receiving a deep pass to give UCI their first score. In response to another Beach goal, Tyler Padua (0:15) faked out the defense for a perimeter shot, and then LBSU tapped the ball into the back post to close out the half, 5-2.
  • Lopez (1) and Padua (1)
• Third period: The Beach poured in four unanswered to increase their lead by eight. The Anteaters had an answer with six seconds left on the back post push from Brody Luke off the deflection, 10-3.
  • Luke (1)
• Fourth period: After Long Beach State's tally, Luka Krstic (6:04) skipped the ball into the left side of the cage. The Anteaters would score a goal following every two Beach goals to close out the game with the last scoring being Jayson Hubbard's shot barring down with 19 seconds on the clock as UCI dropped, 15-6.
  • Hubbard (1), Krstic (1), and Verdegaal (1)

 
UP NEXT
No. 8/6 UC Irvine awaits their fate in the semifinal round of the 2024 Big West Championship hosted by UC Davis (Nov. 22-24). The semifinal game will be played on Saturday Nov. 23.