Courtesy: Cal Athletics
BERKELEY – The California men’s water polo got its revenge on the Los Angeles schools capping off its 2-0 weekend with a 17-11 win over No. 4 USC on Sunday at Spieker Aquatics Complex.
The Golden Bears (14-4, 3-2 MPSF) were 0-4 against UCLA and USC heading into this weekend but picked up two key wins over the top-ranked Bruins and the Trojans to improve to 3-2 in conference and protect their perfect 7-0 home record.
Offensively the Bears were led by junior Patrick Kolak, who scored a season-high four goals, and sophomore Beso Akhveldiani who had his second straight seven-point game scoring four goals and three assists. Ilias Angelopoulos chipped in the fourth hat trick of his rookie season and added four drawn exclusions and three field blocks.
The third meeting between the Bears and Trojans (14-5, 1-4 MPSF) was a back-and-forth affair through the first half with both teams trading goals until the seven-minute mark of the second quarter when USC took a 6-4 lead. From there Cal went on a 4-2 to run to close out the half tied at 8-8.
The third quarter saw the Bears’ defense hold the Trojans to a single goal to win the period 5-1 and take a commanding 13-9 lead. Akhvlediani and Kolak each scored a pair. After allowing eight goals in the first half Cal held USC to just three in the second half claiming the fourth quarter 5-2 with five different Bears scoring to secure the victory.
Cal was efficient on both sides of the ball shooting 18-for-29 (.620) from the field and scoring on five of its 11 power play opportunities while limiting USC to a .320 (11-for-34) clip and killing nine of its 14 power play chances including one six-on-four possession.
The Bears are back at Spieker for the final time this season Friday when Fordham comes to town for a Senior Day matchup at 7 p.m. PT on Overnght.
