By Jonathan Canas (@jonathancanas_) – Spear Editor | SJSU driver Same Biros attempting a shot during a game against UC Irvine on Nov. 3 (Photo by Nick Orozco – Co-Executive Editor of The Spear
The Spartan Recreation and Aquatics Center hosted a Top 15 showdown as No. 12 San Jose State men’s water polo (12-5, 1-1 WCC) fell to No. 8 UC Irvine (16-7, 4-0 Big West) 11-9.
UCI extended its win streak to seven while SJSU saw its three-match win streak broken.
Senior center Bence Szabo got the Spartans on the board one minute into the contest. Both teams traded points in the first period and ended it tied up at three.
The Spartans failed to keep trading points in the second period. Junior Maro Tiozzo scored the only goal in the second period for SJSU.
Anteater junior attacker Luka Kristic opened up the second period with a five-meter goal after drawing a penalty. UCI Senior Jack Stevens scored two of his team-leading three goals to end the half at 6-4.
Momentum carried into the second half for the Anteaters as they capped off a 3-0 scoring run before SJSU sophomore Louis Fehrensen and junior Mael Suchet scored one goal each in the last two minutes to stop the bleeding.
“I would say the third quarter is the one we can talk about,” SJSU goalkeeper Alexey Poletaev said. “We just mentally weren’t there. They kept shooting and taking their chances. We started really well but mentally we were off a little bit but we’ll work on that.”
The Anteaters outshot the Spartans 38 to 27 and Poletaev had 13 saves. However, the reigning WCC newcomer of the week was hit in the eye on one of his saves and was subbed out for Brendon Gyapjas in the fourth period.
With four minutes left in the match, SJSU found itself down 11-7 before senior Jamie Steingraf scored two goals to make the score look more respectable.
SJSU struggled to get around UCI’s defense but ended up having a higher shot percentage of 33%, struggling to find the back of the net.
“In the second half our opponent did a really good job on our centers and we couldn’t break it up,” Szabo said. “I think that’s what we need to focus on building.”
With the loss SJSU falls to 4-4 at home. Of the eight matchups, six have been against ranked teams.
The Spartans’ final four matches come against conference foes, with the first two being on the road. Thankfully for the Spartans, they remain undefeated on the road.
SJSU head coach Gabor Sarusi said he was excited for the next four games.
“We still have a few dips that we need to improve on,” Sarusi said. “We just need to bounce back because this is when the real season starts.”
SJSU will play No. 9 Pepperdine Saturday afternoon in Malibu at Raleigh Runnels Memorial Pool.
