FULLERTON, Calif. – The Cal State Fullerton Men's Water Polo team hosted Big West opponent, No. 16 UC Irvine on Friday evening. The Titans battled and stayed within reach of the Anteaters in the first half but could not find a rhythm in the second half, leading to a 15-7 defeat.
 
Andrew Barnuevo started the game with a shot past the keeper to give the Titans an early 1-0 lead. UCI made their way onto the board, but Alec Isaacman quickly answered back to keep Fullerton on top. The Anteaters scored three in a row before Luke Vargas could find the back of the net. UCI tacked on one more to extend their lead to 5-3 at the end of the first.
 
The second quarter was a closer one as the Anteaters outscored the Titans by just one goal. UC Irvine opened the quarter with back-to-back goals, but Carmelo Bangs interrupted their scoring with three minutes to go. The Anteaters posted another set of back-to-back goals before the Titans copied. With less than a minute left, Ethan MacLeod and Marton Thuroczy put two up, sending the game to the second half with a score of 9-6.
 
The Titans lost their momentum in the back half of the game as UCI shutout the Titans 5-0 in the third quarter and each team tallied one in the final quarter of the game. Jace Peterson got a hold of a late goal to try and get something going for Fullerton.
 
Everyone played a part in Fullerton's effort on Friday night as each goal was scored by a different Titan and 14 assists were recorded. Jacob Hatch led CSF with two assists while Francesco Schiaffino led with two steals. Ethan Ivey guarded the goal and tallied seven saves against the Anteaters.
 
The Titans are back at Titans Aquatics Center tomorrow at 6 p.m. as they host the Long Island Sharks.

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