Courtesy: Cal Athletics
STANFORD – The No. 1 Cal men’s water polo team unleashed the full impact of its attack Saturday, blitzing No. 4 Stanford after an even first quarter and avenging its only loss of the season with an 18-12 victory in the annual Big Splash at Avery Aquatic Center.
The win gave the Bears a final regular season record of 19-1 and a perfect MPSF mark of 3-0 for the second straight year. Cal will be the No. 1 seed at next weekend’s MPSF Championships at USC.
The Bears fell to Stanford 12-11 in the semifinals of the MPSF Invitational in September, but it was apparent by late in the second quarter Saturday that it was going to be Cal’s day.
After the Cardinal scored a goal to close within 5-4 at the 4:42 mark of the second quarter, Cal reeled off a breathtaking 6-0 run, stunning the home crowd and building an 11-4 advantage after the first possession of the third quarter. The Bears maintained a seven-goal lead until midway through the third period and held at least a five-goal lead the rest of the way.
Junior Nikolaos Papanikolaou and sophomore Max Casabella put the finishing touches on their MPSF Player of the Year candidacies, with Papanikolaou registering four goals, three earned exclusions and two steals. Casabella had three goals, three assists, two steals and a field block.
Senior Jack Deely dazzled as well with three goals and five assists and sophomore Robert Valera had two goals and two assists.
The Bears open play at the MPSF Championships on Friday at 9:30 a.m. PT against Penn State Behrend.
No. 1 Cal 18, No. 4 Stanford 12
Cal 3 7 6 2 – 18
Stan 2 2 7 1 – 12
Cal Goals: Nikolaos Papanikolaou 4, Max Casabella 3, Jack Deely 3, Roberto Valera 2, Jake Howerton 2, Nik Mirkovic 2, Albert Ponferrada, Garrett Dunn.
Stanford Goals: Jackson Painter 3, Riley Pittman 3, Grant Watson 2, Walker Seymour 2, Beck Jurasius, Soren Jensen.
Cal Saves: Adrian Weinberg 6.
Stanford Saves: Nolan Krutonog 6.
