No. 1 Bears Wrap Up Homestand With Victory

BERKELEY - The No. 1 Cal men's water polo team recorded a strong performance from the whole squad, seeing 10 players score in an 18-10 victory over No. 12 UC Irvine on Friday evening at Spieker Aquatics Complex.

The Anteaters scored first in the contest before back-to-back goals by freshman Albert Ponferrada and sophomore Max Casabella early in the first quarter gave the Bears the lead, which they would maintain for the remainder of the contest. Coming into the second half with a 7-4 advantage, Cal's offense exploded for five goals in the third quarter, widening the margin. Five players combined for six goals in the final eight minutes to finish out the strong team effort.

Casabella led the Bears in scoring with five goals, four of which came on converted 5-meter penalties. Sophomore Jake Howerton recorded a hat trick and junior Nikolaos Papanikolaou finished the contest with two goals, three steals and seven earned exclusions.

Junior goalkeeper Adrian Weinberg recorded four saves in his three quarters played, and Xavier Casabella saved one during his eight minutes in the net.

The Bears head across the Bay next weekend for the MPSF Invite at Stanford Friday-Sunday, Sept. 23-25. Cal will open the tournament against Pomona-Pitzer on Friday at 2 p.m.

No. 1 California 18, No. 12 UC Irvine 10
UCI 2 2 1 5 - 10
Cal 4 3 5 6 - 18
UCI Goals: Ethan Shipman 3, Jasper Dale 3, Stewart Campbell 2, Jack Stevens, Zachary Baxter
Cal Goals: Max Casabella 5, Jake Howerton 3, Nikolaos Papanikolaou 2, Marton Szatmary 2, Roberto Valera, Joe Molina, Albert Ponferrada, Brady Hoover, Blake Hoover, George Avakian
UCI Saves: Garrett Selby 5
Cal Saves: Adrian Weinberg 4, Xavier Casabella 1