Friday, March 29, 2024
HomeSportsUCI Falls in Championship

UCI Falls in Championship

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Friday
(Win 10-9)

After suffering two debilitating losses to UCLA in the regular season, it was the Anteaters who came out on top in their third match-up this year. Being that it was the first game of the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Tournament, they couldn’t have chosen a better game to be victorious.
Freshman Brandon Johnson scored the game-winning goal 1:50 into sudden-victory overtime, lifting fifth-seeded UC Irvine over fourth-seeded UCLA by a score of 10-9.
Johnson’s goal ricocheted off the crossbar and crept into the left side of the cage, sealing the victory for the Anteaters in the quarterfinal game of the Tournament at Spieker Aquatics Complex in Berkeley Friday.
UCI’s hopes of advancing in the tournament were closing in the waning seconds of the match. Unfortunately for the Bruins, it was their ultimate nemesis, senior Tim Hutten, who sent the match into sudden victory. With 30 seconds remaining in the second three-minute overtime, Hutten scored his third goal of the game, preserving hope for the Anteaters.
During the first affair between the Bruins and the Anteaters, Hutten had been a thorn in the side of UCLA all afternoon, scoring seven goals in the game. But it was the Bruins who came away with the 12-11 victory in overtime.
Perhaps the previous defeats to UCLA made Friday’s victory all the more satisfying. The upset victory gave Hutten and the Anteaters the last laugh and their 13th win of the season