IRVINE, Calif. - The 11th-ranked UC San Diego men's water polo team jumped out to a 4-1 halftime lead but could not hold on in a 7-6 loss to No. 7 UC Irvine on Friday night at Anteater Pool. The Anteaters outscored the Tritons 4-1 in the third period and 2-1 in the fourth. UCSD took the lead in the fourth on a goal by Sean Cruz with 6:10 remaining but UCI responded with two scores. With the loss, UCSD drops to 9-11 while UC Irvine improves to 13-5. The Tritons had six different scorers in the game.

This was UCSD's second one-goal loss to the Anteaters this season. UCI defeated the Tritons at the UCI Invitational on October 11 by an 8-7 score.

In addition to Cruz' goal, Sean Roberts, Matt Kerchner, Lance Curtiss, Steven Donohoe and Bryce Madsen scored.

UCI was led by Greg Enloe and Brandon Johnson with two goals each.

Madsen gave UC San Diego a 5-3 lead on an extra-man goal with 4:56 left and then UCI pulled even on power-play goals by Enloe (3:43) and Doug Lindsey (21 seconds).

The Tritons reclaimed the lead at 6-5 on an extra-man goal by Cruz with 6:10 left in the fourth quarter. UCI's Tom Kruip scored with 5:09 remaining to knot the score at 6-6, setting up the game-winner by Trent Baxter.

UCSD is back in action with a doubleheader on Saturday. The Tritons face Claremont-Mudd-Scripps at 1:30 p.m. and Pomona Pitzer at 4:30 p.m. in Claremont.