Men’s Water Polo: UC Irvine takes on USC in MPSF quarterfinals Friday

UC Irvine is the No. 6 seed and will play No. 3-seeded USC in the quarterfinals of the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation men’s water polo tournament on Friday at 11:30 a.m. at Long Beach State.

The No. 12-ranked Anteaters (15-11) finished in a three-way tie for sixth place in the nine-team conference but earned the No. 6 seed ahead of Pepperdine and Pacific, due to tiebreakers.

Coach Mark Hunt’s Anteaters are led by sophomore Lovre Milos, whose 88 goals lead all MPSF players.

Freshman goalie Byron Rivers leads the MPSF with a 12.6 saves-per-game average, while junior Dylan Peterson ranks third in the MPSF at 12 saves per contest.

Freshman Matt Skinner has 44 goals, followed by Jacob Mourer with 34.

No. 3-ranked USC defeated UCI, 14-10, in at UCI on Nov. 9.

The Anteaters have won two straight, which snapped a five-game losing streak.

UCLA (25-2) is the No. 1 seed, while Stanford (22-3), coached by former Corona del Mar High head man John Vargas, is the No. 2 seed.

UCLA’s roster includes Newport Beach resident Anthony Daboub (16 goals), a senior, and freshman Danny Marshall (four goals), out of CdM High.

Stanford’s roster includes locals Reid Chase (15 goals), a sophomore out of CdM High, and freshman Mitchell Mendoza, a Newport Harbor product.

— From staff reports