No. 4 Cal Travels to Long Beach State and UC Irvine

Nov. 11, 2008

BERKELEY, CALIF. -

Sat., Nov. 15 at Long Beach State Long Beach, Calif. 12:00 p.m.

Sun., Nov. 16 at UC Irvine Irvine, Calif. 12:00 p.m.

Bear Bites

The No. 4-ranked Cal men's water polo team (15-6, 1-3), the defending 2006 and 2007 national champions, return to Southern California this weekend when the Golden Bears face No. 10-ranked Long Beach State (11-14, 0-5) Saturday, Nov. 15 at 12 p.m. and No. 9-ranked UC Irvine (9-11, 0-5) Sunday, Nov. 16 at 12 p.m. in a pair of MPSF conference matches. Last weekend Cal fell to No. 1-ranked USC, 11-9, in an MPSF conference match on Saturday, Nov. 8 in Los Angeles and defeated Pomona College, 19-3, in a non-conference match in Claremont, Calif. The Bears continued to utilize a balanced offensive attack against both USC and Pomona with seven different players scoring in the loss to the Trojans and 11 different players scoring in the victory over Pomona.

Cal Over the Weekend

Cal fell to top-ranked USC, 11-9, last Saturday. In a game of surges, the Trojans won out thanks to powerful first and third periods of play. USC took the early lead in the opening frame by scoring on two 6-on-5 advantages to take a 2-0 lead. The Bears would score next only to see USC add another power play goal. USC scored again with six seconds remaining in the first quarter to take a 4-1 lead. Cal cut into the deficit to open the second period, however. The Bears managed three goals in a minute's span to lock the game up 4-4. USC scored just before the shot clock expired to put the Trojans back on top 5-4. Cal would equalize the match again on a 6-on-5 score from Trent Calder at 2:56. USC added two more goals in the second quarter to take a 7-5 USC lead going into halftime. In the second half, USC pulled farther ahead as they opened the third quarter with two goals to take a 9-5 lead. Cal pushed a 6-on-5 score through at the 5:20 mark of the third period to make it 9-6. USC scored on two power plays to take its largest lead of the game at 11-6. To close down the game, Cal managed a goal with 20 seconds left in the third period and cashed in on two more 6-on-5 chances during the fourth period to make the final score 11-9. Against Pomona, freshman Cory Nasoff led Cal's balanced attack that saw 11 different players score with three goals. In addition to Nasoff's three goals, Calder, Spencer Warden, Ivan Rackov, Luka Saponjic, Charlie Steffens and Zach White added two goals apiece, while Scott Cruikshank, Daniel Orloff, Mike Sample and Brian Dudley notched one goal apiece.

Cal Notes

The balanced scoring attack against USC and Pomona epitomized Cal's season as the Bears have 10 players who have scored more than 10 goals and six players averaging more than one goal a match - Warden 30 goals, Frank Reynolds 29 goals, Rackov 24 goals, White 22 goals, Calder 22 goals, and Saponjic 17 goals. Cal is one of only two teams in the MPSF with four players in the top 20 in goals per game average. Reynolds leads Cal with 25 assists, White tops the squad with 24 ejections earned and senior Calder has a team-best 10 field blocks. The Bears have outscored their opponents 244-136 and have 278 steals, 218 assists, 166 ejections earned and 52 field blocks. Reynolds was this season's (Sept. 8) first MPSF Co-Player of the Week after leading the team with 11 goals, and adding four assists, three steals, three ejections earned and two field blocks at the Sept. 6-7 Navy Open. This year's Cal squad is attempting to be the first men's water polo squad to win three straight NCAA titles since the 1990-92 teams accomplished the feat.

Noting Long Beach State and UC Irvine

No. 10-ranked Long Beach State (11-14, 0-5) fell to No. 7 UC Santa Barbara, 13-12, on Nov. 8 in Santa Barbara. Long Beach State is coached by Gavin Arroyo, who was a first team All-American at Cal in 1993 and part of three NCAA Championship squads at Berkeley (1990, 1991, 1992). No. 9-ranked UC Irvine (9-11, 0-5) fell to No. 5 Pepperdine, 12-9, Nov. 9 in Malibu. UC Irvine is coached by Marc Hunt, the 2007 MPSF Coach of the Year.

Head Coach Kirk Everist

Everist (155-46, .771, seventh year) led the Bears to a 28-4 mark and the program's 13th NCAA crown in 2007. In 2006, he also led Cal to the NCAA title, and in 2002 was MPSF Coach of the Year after the Bears made their first NCAA appearance since 1995. A 1990 Cal graduate, Everist led the Bears to NCAA titles in 1987 and 1988, earning All-America honors from 1986-88 and NCAA Player of the Year in 1988. He was on the USA National Team for nine years (1988-96), competing in the 1992 and 1996 Olympics. Everist's staff includes associate head coach Boyd Lachance (seventh year), and Sean Nolan (fourth year), a 2000 USA Olympian who was a three-time All-American at Cal, helping lead the Bears to the 1991 and 1992 NCAA titles.