Stockton, Calif. - The No. 5 Pacific men's water polo team only led No. 7 UC Irvine for 41 seconds, but it was the final 41 seconds as the Tigers rallied for an 11-10 win in their home opener a Chris Kjeldsen Pool.
Down 10-8 with under four minutes to go, Pacific scored three unanswered goals to improve to 15-2 overall and 2-0 in MPSF play. Ben Stevenson scored four times, including the game winner with 41 seconds left. Alex Obert scored three times while Aleksandar Petrovic and Devon Thumwood each scored twice.
Stevenson floated a lob shot to the top left corner of the goal for Pacific's first lead, and the Tigers held on posting a defensive stop and running out the clock. Brady Moore posted 13 saves in goal for the Tigers.
Kyle Trush and Chris Swieca gave the Anteaters an early 2-0 lead amid a light rain in Stockton, but when the rain let up, the Anteaters did not. After Petrovic's first goal - off an assist from Kriztian Laczkovics - Matt Skinner answered for Irvine for a 3-1 lead. Stevenson converted for a Pacific 6-on-5 goal to bring the Tigers within one after the first quarter.
In the second, Larson Pfeil finished for a two-goal lead, before Obert posted his first goal. Devon Thumwood ripped home a five-meter penalty shot as Pacific tied the game at 4-4. Pfeil struck again before Stevenson tied the game at 5-5 with a power-play goal.
But Jared Osborn and Ryan Warde scored back-to-back goals late in the second. Stevenson completed the hat trick as UC Irvine led 7-6 at halftime.
In the third, Trush stretched the lead to 8-6 for the Anteaters, but Obert finished inside wit 6:49 left in the period. Irvine answered back as Lovre Milos scored from up top for a 9-7 advantage.
Thumwood beat the third quarter clock, scoring with four seconds left in the period as the Tigers pulled within 9-8 after three.
In the fourth, Skinner's second goal gave UC Irvine a 10-8 lead with 7:19 remaining. The Tigers struggled to beat Irvine keeper Dylan Peterson as he posted two saves and Petrovic and Stevenson each ringed shots off the post.
The crowd of 791 at Kjeldsen Pool got loud, feeding the Pacific comeback. Stevenson found Obert slipping to the far post, and Obert finished with a one-time goal to the left side to cut the Irvine lead to 10-9 with 3:35 remaining
Peterson and Moore traded two-save performances on the next two possessions, and with 1:32 left, Petrovic ripped a shot Peterson couldn't get all off and the game was tied at 10-10.
Obert provided smothering defense inside and came away with a steal, and the Tigers set up their offense. From six meters away at the top, Stevenson drifted to his right and floated what looked like a soft pass, but instead of targeting an open teammate, Stevenson hit his spot in the upper left corner of the goal.
Moore stopped a shot from Milos on UC Irvine's last possession, bringing the ball down with two hands with 12 seconds left. After a timeout, the Tigers passed it up the right side and swam into the corner as the clock ticked down.
Stevenson's game winner was his 45th goal of the season, leading Pacific.
UC Irvine falls to 11-5 on the year, 1-1 in MPSF play.
Pacific will play host to No. 4 Stanford on Sunday at Chris Kjeldsen Pool.
