If there were ever a time for a feel-good sports story, this would be it.
After seeing five players removed from the team for code of conduct violations two weeks ago, the Cal men’s water polo team has suffered three consecutive losses and dropped from No. 3 to No. 4 in the national rankings. The drop, although seemingly insignificant, puts the Bears at the bottom of the “Big Four” of the NCAA water polo world.
The Bears (7-3, 0-1) are still national championship hopefuls, but they have faced unimaginable challenges over the last two weeks. They still seem poised to break back into the top three this weekend at the SoCal Invitational in Goleta, Calif.
The 16-team tournament is similar to the NorCal Invitational that occured at Stanford two weeks ago. All the participating teams are ranked in the top 20, and all but No. 19 St. Francis are ranked in the top 16.
The tournament will provide the Bears the opportunity to revisit matches from the NorCal Invitational. Like they did at Stanford, Cal will open the tournament Saturday at 10:40am against No. 14 Air Force.
If Cal wins, it will take on the winner of No. 5 UC Irvine and No. 12 UC Davis. The Bears faced the Anteaters in the second round of the NorCal Invitational, winning 14-7 to advance to the semifinals.
If the Bears can make it to the semifinals this weekend, they will most likely get a rematch against No. 1 USC. Cal played the Trojans last Sunday in its first MPSF Conference game of the year, leading the whole game before a late goal gave USC a 7-6 victory.
In the finals or third place game Sunday afternoon, the Bears could meet No. 2 UCLA or No. 3 Stanford for the second time this season. The Bears lost a thriller in the NorCal Invitational semifinals and fell behind early to Stanford in the third-place match, leading to the Bears first two losses of the season.
The Bears’ overall record is not what they hoped it would be at this point in the season, yet it does not tell the full story.
All three losses have come against top-three teams and all three games have been decided by only one goal. Considering that the Bears lost five players a week into the season, the team is still in a good position win games against USC, Stanford, and UCLA.
The Bears are still a top contender only because of players that have stepped up in the last week to help fill in the gaps left by the departed athletes.
After returning from a concussion that had him sidelined over the summer, sophomore goalie Jon Sibley took over for the removed Justin Parsons in dramatic fashion against USC on Sunday with 12 saves.
Redshirt Freshman Colin Mulcahy limited Nikola Vavic, one of the Trojans’ top scorers, to only one goal.
On offense, Mulcahy and sophomore Aleksa Saponjic led the Bears in scoring, with two goals each.
The ability of the Bears to play the No. 1 team to a tight one-goal loss demonstrated that they not only have the ability but also the drive to prove that they are still contenders on the national scale.
The SoCal Invitational could be the perfect place for them to do so.
Warren Laufer covers men’s water polo. Contact him at [email protected]
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