For 30 minutes, Cal’s men’s water polo team controlled the score and tempo. But for the final two minutes – the ones that count – the Trojans reigned supreme.
With Nicola Vasic’s goal in the 1:38 left in the game, the No. 1 Trojans (9-0, 1-0) defeated the No. 4 Bears, 7-6, at McDonald’s Swim Stadium in Los Angeles this Sunday. The loss was the third in a row for the Bears (7-3, 0-1), who have been reeling since the massive removal of five players from the team.
Head Coach Kirk Everist removed five players from the team, including team captain and starting goalie Justin Parsons, last week for violating the code of conduct policy.
“It’s a challenge that we’re learning to deal with,” Everist said. “We’re playing different players everywhere, so we need to keep improving to get different guys to step up.”
For the first half, the Bears’ younger players did just that.
USC rode the home advantage early, scoring first with 5:13 remaining in the first period. But Cal redshirt freshman Colin Mulcahy responded three minutes later with a skip shot to even the score. After Trojans’ Rex Butler scored at the 1:41 mark to take the lead, the Bears’ sophomore center Matt Russell marked with one minute remaining.
Sophomore Aleksa Saponjic, who spent his summer helping Serbia win a bronze medal in the 2012 London Olympics, closed out the first period with a last-second score, making it 3-2.
Cal continued feeding off its momentum in the second goal with another Mulcahy goal with 5:30 on the clock, establishing a 4-2 lead. The two-goal lead lasted briefly after a USC goal with four minutes left but was regained with junior Hunter Gettelfinger’s powerful skip shot at the 3:40 mark.
Even with a last-minute USC goal, Cal had a 5-4 lead by halftime. Cal was riding high, having converted an impressive 4-4 in man-up situations. Conversely, USC was 2-6 in power plays. The second half, however, provided few power play opportunities, limiting the Bears’ scoring chances.
“(Water polo) can be a one goal game and somebody has to make a play,” Everist said. “We need to capitalize on those penalty shots – it definitely makes a difference.”
No Cal players were able to score during the third period, and USC’s Kostas Genindounias tied the game with 1:41 remaining at 5-5.
Into the fourth period, after retrieving USC’s first possession, Saponjic received a long pass and weaved through a trailing defender and an advancing goalie for the score.
But with five minutes left, the Trojans found the dominant identity that has made them four-time national champions. A strike three minutes later tied the game and with 1:38 remaining, Vavic sent a laser through the low post.
Two Cal turnovers later and USC had the win.
Despite another heartbreaking loss, the Bears’ seventh in a row by only one point, Everist insists the team is resilient enough to bounce back.
Cal’s losses only affect its placement in the MPSF Tournament at this point in the season. If they do well enough there, they can still receive a bid to the NCAA playoffs.
Vincent Tzeng covers men’s water polo. Contact him at [email protected]
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