ORANGE, Calif. – Division I's No. 7-ranked UC Irvine men's water polo team played spoiler on Wednesday. The undefeated Anteaters handed Chapman University a 16-6 defeat in the Panthers' 2013 home opener at the Allred Aquatics Center.
UC Irvine (9-0) turned a somewhat close 7-4 halftime lead into a lopsided advantage with four consecutive goals to open the third quarter of play. Three of those goals came from Anteaters' senior driver Mitch Wise who finished the game with eight goals, thoroughly frustrating the Chapman defense all afternoon.
Trailing 13-5 to begin the fourth quarter, Chapman got a goal from senior utility Brett Carter with 7:45 remaining to cut the deficit to seven. But UCI scored the game's final three goals to win going away. Sophomore 2-meter Tyler Mancuso scored four goals for the Anteaters as well.
Chapman kept it close in the first half, despite spotting UCI to a 6-1 lead midway through the second quarter. The Panthers rallied over the final five minutes with three goals, including one long-range goal from junior driver Mark Alvarado – from about 20 yards out – to cut the Anteaters' lead to 7-4 at the intermission.
Sophomore goalie Stephen Neil made 11 saves in goal for Chapman and added a steal.
by Doug Aiken
Sports Information Director
Boxscore: http://chapman.prestosports.com/sports/mwaterpolo/2013-14/files/UCI-CU.pdf
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