By Sofia Wright — Staff Writer
With a brick wall in goal, the San Jose State men’s water polo team handed UC Irvine its sixth loss in what is now a six-game losing streak.
Sophomore Yahav Fire was on, well, fire. He was able to lead the Spartans (4-12, 1-1 GCC) to victory against the UCI (6-10, 0-3 GCC).
Fire had 18 saves, two steals, and a .857 save percentage which was his highest of the season.
The Spartans scored first in the opening minutes, but the Anteaters quickly answered back to tie the game 1-1.
It wasn’t until the second period that SJSU began to pull away. They scored two unanswered goals, taking a commanding 4-2 lead.
The third period saw three more Spartan goals, and only one for the Anteaters. Senior Finn Pardon and sophomore Neil Arnett led the way for SJSU with two goals apiece.
Even though it pulled out the win, they were outshot by UCI 31-25. And even with a penalty shot in the first period, the Spartans never showed any signs of fatigue.
Driver Marc Weber had said pre-game that the team needs “to keep being hyped up and just enjoy the game,” which they were able to do.
The Spartans will host the Julian Fraser Memorial Tournament next weekend at the Spartan Recreation and Aquatic Center.
In the tournament, they play Princeton on October 26 at 11:40 a.m. with more games to follow.
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