Matijevic anchors Anteaters in goal

Matej Matijevic is less than a month into fall classes at a new school and he says he is thoroughly enjoying meeting new classmates and making new friends.

But when it comes to competing for the UC Irvine men’s water polo team, the 6-foot-5 goalie is all about making enemies and influencing shooters.

“I like making opponents’ fans angry,” said the Croatian import, who received honorable mention in All-American voting in 2015, his only season at San Jose State. “To make other people watch you performing well and beating their team makes it more interesting.”

Things have been interesting the last two seasons for Matijevic, whose role as the last line of defense has been more demanding due to the circumstances of his two teams.

San Jose State resurrected its program last season after a 34-year layoff, and the “expansion” Spartans struggled through a 4-25 campaign that created for Matijevic both a welcome challenge and a source of frustration.

His transfer to UCI brought a return to the Southern California weather to which he had become accustomed during one season at Long Beach City College in 2014. It also meant contributing to a perennial top-10 program with a tradition of winning.

But, with a shift into a new conference, which will not earn an automatic qualifying berth into the NCAA tournament until 2017, UCI Coach Marc Hunt elected to redshirt seven field players, including two All-Americans. The decision created opportunities for young players to add seasoning this season, but did not help the ‘Eaters’ chances for success.

It also created a bigger burden for Matijevic.

“The last two seasons, I’ve had the chance to stick out a little bit, because of the environment I’m in,” Matijevic said. “Last year [my teammates] weren’t good enough [to win]. This year, my teammates are good enough, but they are just inexperienced.”

With years of seasoning on age-group national teams and national club title contenders, Matijevic has shown no shortage of experience or skill.

“We couldn’t be more pleased,” Hunt said of his rangy goalie’s eye-catching ability to almost single-handedly stymie opposing attackers. “He’s a highly talented kid and, with the youth and inexperience he is playing with right now, his saves-per-game average is probably the highest I’ve ever had. He’s a good-sized kid, at about 6-5, 215 pounds, but what is so unique about him is how quick and athletic he is, and how well he tracks the ball and reads shooters.”

Matijevic said his instincts allow him to anticipate where opponents will shoot, but he also said his feel for angles allows him to bait attackers into shooting at perceived openings of his own making.

“Reading shooters here is not as difficult as it was in Europe,” Matijevic said. “[Here,] I try to get in their heads a little bit. If you leave a strong-side opening and try to bait them a little bit, they are always going to shoot there.”

Matijevic said he also toys with opponents’ egos, sometimes cocking his head backward, almost defiantly urging them to try to score, or more often to add to his mounting save totals.

“When [the opponents] are passing the ball around on a six-on-five, I like to give them a [what’s up] nod, as if to say ‘Come on! Shoot it,’” Matijevic said. “If they get frustrated and shoot the ball early, it’s an easy block.”

Matijevic said the level of ease associated with a save can add to the psychological effect it may have on an opponent.

“The best saves for me are the ones where I can catch the shot with both hands,” Matijevic said. “That shows dominance, and it can be demoralizing.”

Matijevic’s dominant play has helped the No.17-ranked ‘Eaters tread water this season. UCI (7-6) was blanked by top-ranked UCLA on Sept.24, and returns to action Sunday at home against No. 3-ranked USC.

Matijevic has had 18 saves three times this season and is averaging 13.7 saves per game.

“On the team we have right now, which is fighting to compete, [Matijejvic] is the leader,” Hunt said. “He is smart enough to understand where our weaknesses lie and he controls the defense in front of him. He’s accepting shots, even asking for them. I wouldn’t say we’re letting teams shoot, but because of the ability he has, we’re forcing them to shoot. And you can see their frustration at times.

“Against Stanford, he had five one-on-nobody saves. It’s motivating. There is nothing better than making a defensive error and having him save our butt. After almost every game, one of my messages to our players is that Matej saved your guys’ butts today. Guys want to work hard for him, because when they screw up, he helps them about 60 or 70percent of the time. He’s one of the top goalies to come through this program in a long time.”