For their first conference match, the Anteaters (11-8) faced off against the San Jose State Spartans (4-12) in a home match at the Anteater Aquatics Complex on Saturday, Oct. 15. The game ended in a 13-10 victory for the ‘Eaters.
The Anteaters were first to score, with sophomore attacker Ethan Shipman converting on a power play. Halfway through the quarter, the Spartans answered with a power play goal of their own, secured by sophomore utility Bence Szabo.
Repeated misfires by San Jose’s offense and blocks from both goalies kept the score at 1-1, until UCI sophomore driver Zachary Baxter put away a step-out shot off of a post up play, assisted by sophomore center Thomas Cass. Within the next minute, senior attacker Zlatan Nikocevic put away an outside shot for the ‘Eaters.
An ejection whistled UCI freshman driver Luka Krstic out of defensive play, and San Jose junior Nikola Nikolic capitalized on their man up opportunity. At the close of the first quarter, a cage-to-cage shot at the buzzer by UCI sophomore goalie Jacob Pyle was stopped by San Jose’s sophomore keeper, Zoltan Der.
The whistle starting quarter two was followed by a tight race for the ball, with UCI sophomore utility Jack Stevens coming away with it. After redshirt sophomore attacker Jake Liechty was removed from the play for a defensive foul, Nikolic put the ball away from the post position.
In the following play, an exclusion whistled against San Jose graduate student defender Niels Hofmeijer created an advantage for UCI sophomore center Tyler Padua to put away a goal. The Spartans answered with a counterattack goal by sophomore utility Bende Pardi, after Stevens’ shot fired off the crossbar.
Return fire from freshman utility Jackson Matos brought the ‘Eaters up 5-4. Another quick counterattack by the Spartans tied the score.
In the final moments of the half, sophomore attacker Dylan Patist delivered back to back outside goals for a 7-5 Anteater lead. Following an outside goal by the Spartans, Patist closed the quarter with a hat trick and extended the ‘Eaters’ lead to 8-6.
Opening the third quarter, every possession was a battle with neither team relenting to the other. In an unfortunate turn of events, a timeout by the ‘Eaters produced a turnover, and San Jose junior utility Mark Kis raced down the pool and found the back of the net.
At a one goal differential, a turnover and consecutive exclusion against Shipman set up sophomore defender Javi Ibanez for a tying goal. Swinging the momentum for the ‘Eaters, sophomore driver Stewart Campbell attacked from the five spot for a beautiful cross cage bar-to-bar goal.
In a chaotic play, a steal by the Spartans produced a counterattack. UCI freshman center Jasper Dale was excluded in pursuit and Pardi put the ball away for the Spartans. Seconds later, an unbelievable buzzer-beater half-court shot by Matos capped the quarter at 10-9 for the ‘Eaters.
In the fourth quarter, Stevens won his fourth sprint of the match, starting the ‘Eaters on the offensive. A penalty called on Padua allowed the Spartans to tack on a five meter goal, put away by Pardi. The tiebreaker was delivered by Campbell with an attack from position five. On the power play, a post pass from Nikocevic to Padua found the back of the net. The Spartans utilized a 30 second timeout to prepare an offensive response. The Spartans earned a man up advantage; however Pyle shut down the six on five attack.
Energy was at an all-time high throughout the fourth. Patist snuck a near side skip shot for his fourth goal of the game, extending the ‘Eaters’ lead 13-10.
In the final moments of the fourth, the ‘Eaters were looking to slow the game down, but the intensity remained. With the seconds of the final minute ticking down, Liechty made a critical shot block to shut down the last-ditch offensive effort by San Jose. As the clock ran out, the crowd applauded the Anteaters’ hard-earned victory.
Jensine Bugelli is a Sports Staff Writer for the fall 2022 quarter. She can be reached at jbugelli@uci.edu.