No. 1 UCLA Splits a Pair in Berkeley
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BERKELEY, Calif. -- The top-ranked UCLA Bruins (10-1, 0-0 MPSF) split a pair of games at the 2021 MPSF Invitational on Saturday, Sept. 25. The Bruins opened the morning slate with an 11-9 win over No. 8 Pacific, setting up a date with No. 3 California in the semifinals in the nightcap. The Golden Bears (13-0) handed the Bruins their first loss of the season with a 10-9 win at Spieker Aquatics Complex.
With the win over the Tigers, UCLA improved to 52-4 all-time against Pacific while falling to 90-72-1 against the Golden Bears.
In the first game against Pacific, the Bruins were led by Felix Brozyna-Vilim and Nicolas Saveljic, each with a hat trick. Jack Larsen had two goals against the Tigers. The Bruins trailed 2-1 at the end of the first but won the second quarter, 3-1, to take a 4-3 lead into the break. Pacific won the third period, 3-2, to tie the game at 7-7 heading into the fourth. In the final frame, the Bruins won the quarter 5-3 to post the 11-9 score. With the game tied at 8-8, UCLA took control with three consecutive goals, all by Brozyna-Vilim (5:13, 4:34, and 1:43).
In the second game against California, the Bruins were led by Jake Cavano's hat trick, which tied for game-high honors. The game also marked the return of goalkeeper Bernardo Maurizi, who has been out all season with an undisclosed injury. He finished with 12 saves. But the Bruins played catch-up for most of the contest. While Cavano gave the Bruins a 1-0 lead (7:25) with a power play goal on the opening possession, Cal scored the next three goals and would never trail again. Freshman Chase Dodd scored at the 4:03 mark of the second quarter, but the Golden Bears again answered with three straight scores to build an 8-5 lead at the break. UCLA trailed by as many as four goals at 10-6 (4:56 of the fourth) before rallying to score the final three goals to provide the 10-9 final.
UP NEXT
Top-ranked UCLA will face No. 3 Stanford in the third-place game on Sunday, Sept. 26. First sprint will begin at 11:30 a.m. PT at Spieker Aquatics Complex.
No. 1 UCLA vs. No. 8 Pacific (MPSF Invitational Quarterfinal)
| SCOREBOARD | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | FINAL |
| No. 8 Pacific | 2 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 9 |
| No. 1 UCLA | 1 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 11 |
6x5 - UCLA - 1/5 - UOP - 5/12
Penalties - UCLA - 1/1 - UOP - 0/0
UOP Goals: Bogdan Djerkovic 3, Djordje Stanic 2, Matthew Hosmer 2, Mihailo Vukacic 1, Manuel Pembertty 1
UOP Saves: John Hedges 8
UCLA Goals: Felix Brozyna-Vilim 3, Nicolas Saveljic 3, Jack Larsen 2, Jake Cavano 1, Andy Rodgers 1, Tommy Gruwell 1
UCLA Saves: Garret Griggs 15
No. 1 UCLA at No. 3 California (MPSF Invitational Semifinal)
| SCOREBOARD | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | FINAL |
| No. 1 UCLA | 3 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 9 |
| No. 3 CAL | 4 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 10 |
6x5 - UCLA - 4/13 - CAL - 4/10
Penalties - UCLA - 0/0 - CAL - 0/0
UCLA Goals: Jake Cavano 3, Nicolas Saveljic 2, Giorgio Alessandria 1, Guillermo Ocasio 1, Makoto Kenney 1, Chase Dodd 1
UCLA Saves: Bernardo Maurizi 12
CAL Goals: Max Casabella 3, Nikolaos Papanikolaou 2, Warren Loth 2, Miles O'Brien-Schridde 1, Nikos Delagrammatikas 1, Mateus Stellet 1
CAL Saves: Adrian Weinberg 9