A trip down to Southern California for the No. 4 Cal men's water polo team turned into a weekend to remember.

Against No. 9 Long Beach State (13-15, 1-5 in the MPSF) on Saturday at Campus Pool, the Bears (16-6, 2-3) fell behind by three goals going into the fourth quarter after being tied up at halftime.

"We were really surprised going into halftime to see the score tied," sophomore Brian Dudley said. "We were more surprised when we were down going into the fourth because we knew that our speed and fitness would come in after halftime, but they hung in there."

Cal chipped away at the score but found itself down 8-7 with 16 seconds left in the match.

Only 11 seconds later, the Bears answered to send the game to overtime on a shot from senior co-captain Trent Calder.

From there, the teams went back and forth for two periods, matching each other score-for-score to force a sudden death period.

In sudden death, the 49ers had a prime opportunity to win, but sent a shot wide of the cage. It would be Long Beach State's final opportunity to score as the Bears proceeded to head down to their offensive set and put a conclusion to the dramatic match, winning 11-10 on a goal by Dudley.

"I was the primary attacker going into the set," Dudley said. "I saw my defender turn his head and focus on Spencer Warden. As soon as I saw him drop his hips a little, I went inside water on him ... Warden gave me the pass and I just went in a little bit and I lobbed it far cage."

Both Dudley and Calder had huge days, scoring four and three goals, respectively, to carry their team's offensive load.

Dudley is no stranger to late-game heroics. The utility player also sealed an overtime victory against UCLA during the SoCal Open on October 12.

Nevertheless, he and the rest of his teammates had very little time to celebrate their victory. With its victory over the 49ers in the rearview mirror, Cal headed down to UC Irvine (10-12, 1-6) for a Sunday afternoon match at Anteater Pool.

The Bears had a much easier time dispatching the Anteaters, 8-6, but they still failed to pull away.

Entering the final period up 8-4, Cal gave up two goals on extra situations to UC Irvine.

"Throughout the whole season, (coach Kirk Everist) says, 'We're stubborn as mules,'" Dudley said. "We gave away way too many chances at the end."

According to Dudley, the eventful weekend sets the Bears up nicely for their showdown against Stanford next Saturday by giving them some added momentum. The last time these two squads faced off, the Cardinal walked away with an 11-10 victory.

"It was definitely a step forward," Dudley said. "It showed a lot of character, a lot of desire from the team-there was tons of heart. Every single person chipped in."

Tags: KIRK EVERIST, CAL MEN'S WATER POLO