Anteaters Rule!: UC Irvine Stuns #3 USC in Men’s Water Polo

IRVINE, Calif., October 30. SOPHOMORE Tim Hutten (Los Alamitos HS) scored three fourth-quarter goals to lift seventh-ranked UC Irvine over No. 3 USC, 9-7, in Mountain Pacific Sports Federation men's water polo at the Anteater Aquatics Complex this afternoon.

Hutten, who had a game-high four goals, scored a natural goal at 4:34 of the fourth quarter, then converted power-play goals at 3:04 and 1:02 to break a 7-7 tie after USC sophomore Thomas Hale had scored an extra-man goal with 3:32 remaining to draw the Trojans even.

UCI's Dreason Barry and Rick Merlo had key steals in the final two minutes as the Anteaters improved to 12-8 overall and 3-2 in the MPSF. The win was UCI's fourth straight and it snapped USC's eight-game winning streak.

UCI never trailed in the game and built a 5-1 lead on an extra-man goal by Barry with 3:58 left in the second quarter. The Trojans scored three consecutive goals, the last by Jordan Van Norman with 2:32 remaining in the third quarter, to cut the margin to 5-4. Goals by UCI's Dan Noon and USC's Hale gave the Anteaters a 6-5 lead after three periods.

Hale opened the fourth quarter with an extra-man goal at 5:04 to tie the game at 6-6 before Hutten began his hat trick to spark UCI.

Barry and Noon had two goals apiece for UCI. Hale led the Trojans (17-3, 3-2 MPSF) with three goals and Van Norman scored twice. USC goalie Adam Shilling had eight saves while Anteater junior Joe Wynne recorded nine stops.

USC travels to Pepperdine for another MPSF match next Saturday (Nov. 6) at noon.

BOX SCORE
USC ——— 1 – 2 – 2 – 2 — 7
UC Irvine — 3 – 2 – 1 – 3 — 9

USC: Thomas Hale 3, Jordan Van Norman 2, Juan Delgadillo, James Shin

UCI: Hutten 4, Barry 2, Noon 2, Mello.

Saves: Shilling (USC) 8; Wynne (UCI) 9.

Records: No. 3 USC is 17-3, 3-2 MPSF; No. 7 UCI is 12-8, 3-2 MPSF

Subscribe
Notify of
guest

Welcome to our community. We invite you to join our discussion. Our community guidelines are simple: be respectful and constructive, keep on topic, and support your fellow commenters. Commenting signifies that you agree to our Terms of Use

0 Comments
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
0
Would love your thoughts, please comment.x
()
x