IRVINE, Calif. – The Cal State Fullerton Men's Water Polo team kicked off the 2025 season at the UCI Tournament and faced Loyola Marymount and Concordia University Irvine, but fell short in both games on Friday.
 
The Titans competed in two close games where their heads stayed in the game for every minute. CSF faced nationally ranked No. 16,  LMU,  in the first match of the season in a high-scoring game, losing that one 14-17. Fullerton got back in the pool Friday evening to take on Concordia, but that one also did not go the Titans way, resulting in a 6-8 loss.
 
TITANS 14, No. 16 LOYOLA MARYMOUNT 17
In an evenly matched game against the No.16 Loyola Marymount Lions, Julian Nichols and Jacob Hatch shined for the Titans as they fired a combined seven shots to the back of the net in the first game of the season. The Titans matched the Lions in the first, third and fourth quarters, but fell short in the second, eventually leading to a 17-14 loss.
 
In the first quarter, LMU got on the board first, but Hatch immediately answered back for his first goal of the season. The crowd was seeing déjà vu when the Lions did it again and so did Hatch, tying it up at two a piece.  In the final two minutes of the first quarter, Marton Thuroczy, Carmelo Bangs and Nico D'Angelo each fired one to the back of the net. LMU responded back after every goal. The Titans and Lions were all tied up at 5 going into the second quarter.
 
Ethan Merritt and Andrew Barnuevo each scored a goal in the second frame, but it was not enough to stay head-to-head with LMU who continued to find the back of the net. After the first half, the Lions led 10-7.
 
Nichols fired three past the LMU goalkeeper in the third quarter. Hatch also found the back of the net in the third quarter for his third of the game. LMU matched Fullerton's four goals, holding onto their lead. The Titans still trailed the Lions 14-11 going into the final frame of the match.
 
Nichols, Barnuevo and Bangs each tacked on another goal for the Titans in the fourth quarter, but the Lions were unstoppable as they put up an extra three goals. The Titans fell 17-14 to the nationally ranked No. 16 Lions in the first game of the 2025 season.
 
Goalie, Ethan Ivey, recorded 10 saves in his first outing as a Titan. Nichols scored four goals, an assist and drew an exclusion. Hatch logged three goals on four attempts, an assist and drew an exclusion. Newcomers, Bangs and Barnuevo, each netted two goals. Francisco Paredes drew a team high, three exclusions in the first game of the 2025 season.
 
TITANS 8, CONCORDIA 6
Alec Isaacman and the Titans started off hot in the second game of the day, but Concordia slipped away with the 8-6 win after a big third quarter for the Golden Eagles.
 
Isaacman and Ethan MacLeod went back-to-back to open the game in a 2-0 lead. The Titans defense allowed one goal in the first quarter, holding onto their lead going into the second quarter. Togan Ozbek fired one in , extending the lead to 3-1 before Concordia scored at the end of the half. After the first half, the Titans led 3-2.
 
Isaacman opened up the second half with another goal, his second of the day. CSF was unable to find the back of the net in the remainder of the third frame. Concordia went on to score five in the third quarter, taking a 7-4 lead over the Titans.
 
Freshmen, Luke Vargas and Francesco Schiaffino, each scored a goal in the final quarter, but CUI's big third quarter was enough to win the game in addition to a Golden Eagles goal early in the fourth.
 
Isaacman led the Titans with two goals on three attempts and an assist. MacLeod, Vargas and Schiaffino each scored their first goal as a Titan in the second game at the UCI Tournament. On defense, Fullerton logged five saves and Ethan Ivey saved seven shots from entering the back of the net.
 
The Titans will be back in the pool on Saturday as they face UCI at 11:30 am and CBU at 4:15 pm.

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