MERCED, Calif. – The University of California, Merced men's water polo team fell 18-4 to Concordia University Irvine on Friday night at the Aquatics Center.

Vincent Labonte, Evan Ladeairous, James Soto, and Weston Oliver scored a goal for the Bobcats (4-11, 0-2).

Matthew Lloyd was credited with 13 saves.

UC Merced led 2-1 three minutes into the match, but CUI exploded on a 9-1 goal scoring run to end the first half and take control.

CUI outscored the Bobcats 5-0 in the third quarter to extend its lead to 15-3.

The Bobcats scoring drought ended with 1:27 remaining in the contest.

Dimitrios Koritsas and Carter Clenney recorded a hat trick for CUI.

Other notables for UC Merced include two steals from Andrew Jones, an assist from Jakee Chacon in his UC Merced debut, and the Bobcats winning all four sprints. Soto won two of them.

Up next, UC Merced will host Biola on Senior Day on Saturday, October 18 at the Aquatics Center. Seniors Vincent Labonte and Aydann Hambruch will be celebrated prior to the 1:00pm opening sprint.