No. 7 UC Irvine Hands No. 10 UC Santa Barbara 9-7 Loss

Nov. 14, 2009

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. - No. 7 UC Irvine held off a late rally by the Gauchos as the Anteaters defeated 10th-ranked UC Santa Barbara, 9-7, Saturday afternoon in a Mountain Pacific Sports Federation contest at Campus Pool. With the win, UCI climbed to 15-9 overall and 3-3 in MPSF action while the Gauchos fell to 12-12 (1-5) overall.

Cole Bielskis led the Anteaters with three goals while Brandon Johnson chipped in a pair of goals. Greg Enloe, Kyle Kruip, Mihailo Jevtovic and Harvey Newland each had a goal while goalie Matt Johnson had eight saves in the winning effort.

Much of the game was a seesaw battle as the contest saw five ties. UC Irvine got on the scoreboard first as Bielskis scored following the first ejection of the game with 4:07 on the clock. During the next possession, UCSB responded with a power-play goal by Milos Golic to put the Gauchos on the board. UCSB took its first lead of the game at the 2:46 but less than a minute later, Bielskis knotted the game at 2-2.

UCI took a 3-2 lead less than three minutes into the second quarter on a power-play goal by Johnson, but UCSB responded on a goal by Noah Smith. UCSB then claimed a 4-3 lead at the 4:05 mark after Brian Shoemaker drew a five-meter penalty and Golic converted the free shot.

In the last two minutes of the half, Johnson and Newland posted back-to-back goals to give the Anteaters the 5-4 advantage at halftime.

The third quarter was a battle of the team's defenses and the first goal wasn't scored until the 2:22 mark, when Vincze tied the game at 5-5. On the next possession, UCI drew a five-meter penalty and Mihailo Jevtovic scored on the free shot to give the Anteaters a one-goal advantage heading into the final quarter.

Enloe and Kruip scored back-to-back goals in the first four minutes of the fourth quarter, giving the Anteaters their largest lead of the game at 8-5. Two Gaucho goals cut UCI's lead to one with 1:06 mark remaining but the Anteaters tucked away a goal in the final minute of play to end the game.

The Anteaters host Pepperdine Sunday at 2:00 p.m. at Anteater Pool.

 UC Irvine 9, UCSB 7
                       1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - Final
UCI                  2 - 3 - 1 - 3 - 9
UCSB                2 - 2 - 1 - 2 - 7
 
UCI Goals: Cole Bielskis 3, Brandon Johnson 2, Mihailo Jevtovic, Greg Enloe, Kyle Kruip, Harvey Newland
UCI Saves: Matt Johnson 8

UCSB Goals: Zsombor Vincze 3, Milos Golic 2, Brian Shoemaker, Noah Smith
UCSB Saves: Fraser Bunn 8