PALO ALTO, Calif.— Sam Keightley scored five goals as the No. 11 San José State men's water polo team (5-6, 0-0 WCC) battled No. 13 UC Irvine (9-5, 0-0 Big West) to the wire before falling in double overtime, 15-14, to close out the MPSF Invite on Sunday morning.
The Spartans matched the Anteaters shot for shot throughout a tightly contested regulation. San José State built a two-goal lead in the first half, scoring four times in the second quarter, before Irvine answered with a strong third to even the score. With less than two minutes left, Samu Biros gave the Spartans a 12-11 lead, but the Anteaters forced overtime with a late equalizer, tying it at 12-12.
Biros and Louis Fehrensen both scored in the first overtime period to keep pace with Irvine, and neither team could pull away. The Anteaters finally broke through in the second overtime period, scoring the deciding goal to escape with the win.
- Keightley led all scorers with five goals, and Biros added a hat trick.
- Aidan Johnson and Giancarlo Marquez each scored twice, and Fehrensen and Aron Sárfalvi each added one.
- Alexey Poletaev made eight saves.
UP NEXT: San José State returns to Avery Aquatic Center to face No. 3 Stanford on Friday, Sept. 25, at 1 p.m.
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