UCI’s Johnson collects All-MPSF recognition

UC Irvine sophomore driver Brandon Johnson has been named second-team All-Mountain Pacific Sports Federation in men’s water polo.

Johnson led the Anteaters with 68 goals this season, ranking second in the MPSF with a 2.62 per-game scoring average. He notched six goals in three separate games in 2008.

UCI, which entered last weekend’s MPSF Tournament as the eighth seed, placed sixth with a pair of two-goal losses to top-ranked USC and UC Santa Barbara sandwiched around a 13-12, sudden-death overtime win over No. 5-seeded California. Coach Marc Hunt’s Anteaters (11-15) return their top five scorers next year plus starting goalkeeper Matt Johnson, who had 186 saves in 2008.

— From staff reports