By Matthew Meyer (@mattmeyersjsu) – Spear Reporter | SJSU junior goalkeeper Brendon Gyapjas sets himself up to block a penalty shot (Photo by Matthew Meyer – Spear Photographer)
The No. 7 San Jose State men’s water polo (10-6, 4-1 WCC) failed to comeback in a tight 11-9 loss to No. 16 UC Irvine (15-11, 2-3 BWC) in their last non-conference match of the season Sunday.
Freshman utilityman Sam Keightley scored four times to cap off a sensational rookie season. He was the only Spartan to find the back of the net multiple times in the match.
Junior goalkeeper Brendon Gyapjas recorded eight saves during the match, but allowed 11 goals from the Anteaters.
The Anteaters pulled away in the fourth period when UC Irvine senior attacker Luka Krstic shot two goals within the last three minutes of the match to seal SJSU’s fate.
Up until that point, the score was neck and neck with each team tying it up seven times throughout a majority of the match.
SJSU head coach Gabor Sarusi received a yellow card after arguing with officials at the end of the first period over a misconduct call on senior driver Mael Suchet.
The loss comes only 24 hours after the team secured the title of West Coast Conference co-regular season champions for the first time in program history.
As for end of the season recognitions, sophomore driver Samu Biros’ impressive 2025 season had him ranked in the top ten in multiple categories in the WCC.
Biros ranked No. 4 in field blocks, tied with junior utilityman Mitchell Keightley for No. 6 in steals-per-game and tied for No. 8 in goals-per-game
Biros led the Spartans in scoring this season with 42 goals in 16 games.
As for defensive metrics, Gyapjas’ remarkable season in the goal earned him multiple spots in top ten categories.
He ranked No. 1 in the WCC for both save percentage and goals-against average. He ranked No. 3 in saves-per-game and also tied for No. 5 in total saves.
SJSU sets their sights on the WCC Conference Tournament, where they enter as the No. 2 seed. The three day WCC Tournament will kick off at noon on Friday, Nov. 22 at the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colorado.
