With six seconds left in their MPSF conference match against No. 9 Long Beach State, the No. 5 Cal men’s water polo team was met with cruel irony.
In 2009, then-redshirt freshman Spencer White scored 23 goals in 28 matches with the Bears. He was named The Daily Californian’s Fall 2009 Best Newcomer.
But then, after a shoulder injury, he never played in another water polo game for the Bears, seemingly ended a promising collegiate career.
With six seconds left in Saturday’s game, the Bears were down by one goal. In a must-score last possession of the game, Cal sophomore goalie Jon Sibley made a desperate pass into two-meters. A 49ers defender tipped the pass away, and Long Beach State completed a devastating upset of the Bears.
The defender was none other than Spencer White, now working towards an M.B.A. at Long Beach State and playing with his final year of NCAA eligibility.
White also scored a goal Saturday as the Bears (10-7, 1-3) lost their third MPSF conference match, falling to the 49ers, 11-10, at Spieker Aquatics Complex.
The Bears quickly fell behind in the beginning of the game. Long Beach State jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first quarter when goals by junior Nick Rascon and freshman Zachary Kappos went unanswered by the Bears.
The Bears made a comeback in the second quarter, outscoring the 49ers five goals to two to take a 5-4 lead into halftime. The five goals were all scored by different Bears, including one by sophomore Aleksa Saponjic, who went on to score five goals in the match.
The third quarter was not as kind to the Bears. White opened the third quarter with a quick goal for the 49ers to tie the game 5-5.
Freshman Colin Mulcahy and Saponjic each added their second goals of the game, but the 49ers answered back with two goals. Long Beach State ended the quarter with two straight unanswered goals to take a 9-7 advantage into the last quarter of play.
Saponjic caught fire in the fourth quarter, scoring three more goals. Two goals from the 49ers made the lead too much for the Bears to handle, though.
A final possession gave Cal one last chance, but White knocked away Sibley’s pass to secure the upset victory for Long Beach State.
The Bears will try to improve their conference record as they hit the road this week for a pair of MPSF conference matchups on the road. On Thursday, Cal will be at No. 8 UC Irvine.The Bears will then head to Malibu to take on No. 6 Pepperdine on Friday.
The Bears are 1-1 against the Anteaters this season, winning 14-7 at the NorCal Invitational before falling 13-11 at the SoCal Invitational. The Bears bested Pepperdine 12-9 at the SoCal invitational in the two teams’ only matchup of the season.
Warren Laufer covers men’s water polo. Contact him at [email protected]
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Cal’s men water polo team is quickly turning into Cal’s football team in a sense that they have a ton of talent but they underachieve and are consistently inconsistent.