Nov. 14, 2009

BERKELEY, CALIF. - The No. 2-ranked Cal men's water polo team (19-4, 6-1 in MPSF) broke away from a 6-4 halftime lead by outscoring No. 15 Pacific (13-14, 0-7) 6-1 in the second half on the way to a 12-5 victory over the Tigers Saturday, Nov. 14 at Spieker Aquatics Complex. The Golden Bears were led by sophomore left-hander Luka Saponjic's three goals and two goals apiece by junior center Zach White and sophomore Ivan Rackov. Sophomore goalie Wil Toppen finished with seven saves. Cal is currently on an eight-match winning streak.

Senior captains Spencer Warden and Mike Sample also notched goals in their final home match at Spieker Aquatics Complex. Warden has now scored 127 career goals with 235 steals and 104 assists in 107 career matches. Sample has 39 career goals with 71 assists and 55 steals in 99 career matches. On the day, Sample led Cal with five steals, while Warden tallied four steals.

The Bears owned a 3-1 first quarter advantage on goals by Rackov, Warden and Zach White. White opened the second period's scoring with a goal from two-meters off an assist by Saponjic, and sophomore Charlie Steffens and Saponjic also tallied goals for the Bears, but Pacific remained close. The Tigers' Joey Rossi scored with 4:11 in the second period, and then Goran Tomasevic and Lance Morrison's shots towards the end of the first half got Pacific within 6-4.

But Cal took control of the match in the second half, scoring six-straight goals, including two by Saponjic, before the Tigers were finally able to score again on a shot by Jason Wensley with a little more than a minute left in the contest.

The Bears next travel to Santa Clara for a non-conference match on Sunday, Nov. 15 at 12 p.m. at Sullivan Aquatic Center. Earlier this season, Cal defeated the Broncos, 14-9, Sept. 19 in the first round of the NorCal Open at Stanford, and 13-9 Oct. 18 in Berkeley.

Pacific: 1-3-0-1 --- 5
Cal: 3-3-2-4 --- 12

Pacific Goals: Austin Delong, Joey Rossi, Goran Tomasevic,
Lance Morrison, Jason Wensley

Cal Goals: Luka Saponjic 3, Ivan Rackov 2, Zach White 2,
Mike Sample, Spencer White, Charlie Steffens, Spencer Warden,
Jack Stampfl

Pacific Saves: Tomislav Bujas 7

Cal Saves: Wil Toppen 7