Championship Central >>>
| No. 1 seed UC Irvine 11, No. 2 seed UC Santa Barbara 9 |
La Jolla, Calif. — Top-seeded UC Irvine defeated No. 2 UC Santa Barbara in dramatic fashion, 11-9, to clinch the Big West Men's Water Polo Championship in La Jolla, Calif on Nov. 19.
Sophomore attack Luka Krstic recorded six points (2 goals and 4 assists) to lead all players in the pool.
Redshirt junior attack Jake Liechty, junior attack Ethan Shipman, and freshman attack Johann Thrall rounded out the list of multi-goal-scorers for the 'Eaters in the championship victory.
Sophomore redshirt attack Will Coons, junior attack Adam Gyenis, and redshirt sophomore Brock Zamanian paced UC Santa Barbara by each scoring twice in the setback.
UC Irvine jumped out to an early lead in the first quarter, scoring four goals, while UC Santa Barbara managed to find the net once.
The second quarter saw both teams exchanging blows, with the Gauchos outscoring the 'Eaters 3-2 in the quarter. UC Irvine maintained a narrow lead 6-4 as the teams headed into halftime.
UC Santa Barbara continued their offensive efforts in the third quarter, matching UC Irvine's goal tally. The scoreboard remained tight, with both teams striving for control.
The final quarter and final quarter proved to be a thrilling conclusion to the match.
UC Irvine managed to secure three crucial goals, and although UC Santa Barbara fought hard with two tallies of their own, it wasn't enough for the Gauchos to overcome the deficit. UCI scored with just 31 seconds remaining in regulation to widen the gap between the 'Eaters and Gauchos, 11-9
Anteater goalkeeper junior Jacob Pyle turned away 14 shots in net while redshirt sophomore goalie Levi Lentin made 11 saves. Pyle performance in net this weekend earned the goalkeeper Big West Championship MVP honors.
UC Santa Barbara's season comes to a close at 17-13 overall.
UC Irvine improves to 11-9 on the season 18-9 and earned the automatic bid to the 2023 National Collegiate Men's Water Polo Championship hosted by UCLA Dec. 1-3 at Spieker Aquatics Center Pool in Los Angeles, Calif. The 'Eaters will await the announcement of their opponent during the NCAA Selection Show tonight.