BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Facing No. 7-seeded San Jose State in the first round of the MPSF Championship on Friday at Counsilman-Billingsley Aquatic Center, Cal women's water polo goalkeeper Isabel Williams became the Golden Bears' all-time saves leader in a 15-10 win.
Williams had 12 saves on the day. She set the record with her fifth stop on a penalty midway through the second quarter, surpassing Stephanie Peckham – who had 816 saves from 2009-11 – for the No. 1 spot in program history. It was the sixth penalty stop in five games for Williams.
The No. 2 seed Bears (16-5) trailed 3-2 after one quarter, but opened the second with four straight goals from four different players to take control of the game. Senior Maryn Dempsey finished with three goals for the fifth time this season. Junior Jessie Rose and freshman Feline Voordouw added two goals apiece.
Coming out of the break with a 6-4 advantage, Cal went on another 4-0 run to start the second half. The Bears took their largest lead of the day, 14-7, on a highlight fourth-quarter backhand by sophomore Lindsey Harris.
Cal advances to tomorrow's MPSF Semifinal Round and will face No. 3 seed Stanford for the second straight weekend. The Bears defeated the Cardinal 11-6 in their regular season finale last Friday on the road, picking up their largest victory over Stanford since 1997.
No. 3 California 15, No. 18 San Jose State 10
Cal 2 4 4 5 – 15
SJSU 3 1 1 5 – 10
Cal Goals: Maryn Dempsey 3, Feline Voordouw 2, Jessie Rose 2, Mallory Reynoso, Julia Bonaguidi, Maddie DeMattia, Janna Tauscher, Rozanne Voorvelt, Kate Meyer, Lindsey Harris, Abbi Magee
SJSU Goals: Darcy Spark 3, Lucy Miszewski 3, Sinia Plotz 2, Maiken Pardon, Ivanna Anderson-Villela
Cal Saves: Isabel Williams 12
SJSU Saves: Grace Smith 7, Zsofia Hadju 1
SHE ?? DID ?? THAT ??
With her 12 saves today, Isabel Williams reaches 8??2??4?? in her career to become the Bears' all-time leader in career saves! ??#HistoryMade #ShesNotDoneYet pic.twitter.com/llNPjDpLHP
— Cal W Water Polo (@CalWWPolo) April 26, 2024
The save that put Isabel Williams at the top of the Golden Bear record book came on her 6th penalty stop in 5 games… ??stuff#gobears?? @OvernghtMedia pic.twitter.com/T7OeCE0h86
— Cal W Water Polo (@CalWWPolo) April 27, 2024
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