One month into the season, the Cal men’s water polo team is still looking to secure a signature win. In the team’s most recent match against Pacific last weekend, breakdowns on defense and missed scoring opportunities in front of the goal were major factors in the Bears’ one-goal defeat.
“We got to get over the hump and finish somebody off,” said head coach Kirk Everist. “We’re close.”
So far this season, all eight of Cal’s wins came against teams it should have beaten considering the Bears’ high national ranking. The team’s three losses were against opponents ranked in the top five nationally. And the margin of defeat in all three matches was two goals or less.
Even with the disappointing losses, Cal is actually right where many people expected it to be. The Bears were picked to finish tied for fourth in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation conference’s preseason poll. The MPSF Conference features the best collegiate water polo teams in the county. Currently, Cal is ranked No. 5 nationally.
The Bears still have seven weeks to improve their play before the MPSF Conference Tournament, where an automatic bid to the four-team NCAA Tournament is on the line.
This weekend’s UC Irvine Invitational will be an opportunity for Cal (8-3, 0-1 in the MPSF Conference) to win a coveted victory against a top-five opponent. The tournament features 14 of the 16 teams who took part in the NorCal Invitational at UC Berkeley four weeks ago, including all nine of the teams in the MPSF Conference.
The Bears open with a match against No. 13 UC San Diego on Saturday at 12:15 p.m. This is the second time the two teams have faced each other this season. Cal won the first meeting 13-10 at the Triton Invitational in early September.
With a win, the Bears would likely take on No. 4 Stanford at 4:50 p.m. for a chance to reach the semifinals. The Cardinal defeated Cal 12-10 in the third-place match at the NorCal Invitational. How the Bears fare in their first two matches will decide whom they play on Sunday.
Coming into the weekend’s matches, Everist is not planning on making any major changes to his team. “We pretty much know what kind of team we are,” he said. “We’ve got to play really good (defense), and we are fast. And we’ll push people.”
But the head coach did acknowledge the Bears are working on minor strategic and personnel changes. Everist said his players struggled in the half-court offense against Pacific when the Tigers slowed down Cal’s transition game.
He also said the team is trying to adjust to the loss of senior Ayal Keren due to injury. With Keren out of the lineup, sophomore Thomas Agramonte and redshirt freshman Farrel South have had to take on new positions.
In the cage, senior goalkeeper Michael Boggan, who made 14 saves in the loss to Pacific, will continue to split time with junior Jon Sibley. Both Sibley and Boggan have played in seven matches each.
And Everist reiterated that his players needs to finish scoring chances, and games, when they have the chance.
“When we get that opportunity to put one away, no matter who it is on our team, somebody’s got to step up and has to do it,” he said. “I have faith. They are good group. They are playing pretty well, but it’s tight out there.”
Stephen Hobbs covers men’s water polo. Contact him at [email protected].