LOS ANGELES – Sixth-seeded UC Irvine used a strong third quarter to defeat No. 7 seed UCSB (12-16) by way of a 12-9 score on Saturday morning in the second round of the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Tournament, which is being hosted by USC at McDonald’s Swim Stadium.
UC Irvine climbed to a 4-2 lead in the first quarter, but the Gauchos were not down for long. UCSB outscored the Anteaters 3-1 in the second to knot the game at five-all heading into halftime.
Irvine came out of the break on fire and posted five goals in the third quarter, grabbing a 10-7 lead heading into the final eight minutes of the game. Each team tallied a pair of goals in the fourth as UC Irvine held on for the 12-9 victory.
Juniors Milos Golic and Zsombor Vincze each tallied a hat trick in the loss. In the goal, freshman keeper Myles Christian posted 11 saves for the Gauchos.
“This was a tough loss,” said head coach Wolf Wigo. “We’re looking to finish the season on a high note in tomorrow’s game.”
UCSB will now play Pacific for seventh place in the tournament at 10 a.m. on Sunday at McDonald’s Swim Stadium.
UC IRVINE 12, UCSB 9
UCSB 2 3 2 2 — 9
UC Irvine
4
1
5
2
—
12
UCSB Goals: Milos Golic 3, Zsombor Vincze 3, Brian Bishop, Noah Smith, Stefan Partelow
UCSB Saves: Myles Christian 11
UC Irvine Goals: T. Jruip 4, Enloe 2, Lindsey, Jetovic, Lerman, Frank, Figueroa, B. Johnson
UC Irvine Saves: M. Johnson 7
