No. 6 Cal Begins MPSF Play In LA
The No. 6 California men's water polo team begins MPSF play in Los Angeles this weekend against the nation's top-two ranked teams, starting with a Saturday afternoon trip to No. 2 USC (11-1) followed by a Sunday clash with No. 1 UCLA (13-0). After a 7-1 start to the year, the Golden Bears (8-4) have been defeated in three of their last four outings, the first coming in a 12-7 home loss to the Bruins in the Overnght MPSF Invitational semifinals on Sept. 21. Cal has been led offensively this season by seniors Max Casabella (32 goals) and Roberto Valera (20) and junior Albert Ponferrada (24 assists).
BEAR NECESSITIES
LAST TIME OUT
The Bears went 1-1 in last week's trip to SoCal, earning a 15-10 win at Pomona-Pitzer on Sept. 26 before being held to a season low in goals in a 13-5 defeat at No. 6 UC Irvine. Casabella and Nik Mirkovic led the way with three goals apiece in the win over the Sagehens. Kai Seed saw his most action of the season at goalkeeper, registering eight saves in both games.
OVERNGHT MPSF INVITATIONAL RECAP
Hosting a handful of the top teams in the nation at the Overnght MPSF Invitational two weeks ago, the Bears defeated No. 13 UC San Diego 14-11 in their 2024 home opener on Sept. 20 behind a four-goal, four-assist performance by Casabella. Cal followed that up with a strong team effort in a 15-10 win over No. 9 Princeton, getting multi-goal efforts from five players and the first double-digit save outing of the year by redshirt freshman goalkeeper Riley Clansen, who stopped 11 shots.
Clansen topped himself with 14 more saves in the Bears' 12-7 MPSF Invitational Semifinal loss to UCLA and Cal closed out the weekend with a 15-10 defeat to No. 2 Stanford.
TO THE MAX
A two-time All-NCAA Championship First Team honoree and crucial contributor during the Bears' current NCAA three-peat run, Casabella has continuously shown up in big games, with his game high of five goals in last year's 13-11 NCAA Championship Game win over UCLA providing a sign of things to come in his senior season. He has taken the reins as Cal's go-to player on the offensive end so far, registering hat tricks in half of his appearances thus far for an average of 2.7 goals per game and 29 total goals, a mark that ranks second in the MPSF. His seven goals against No. 4 Pepperdine on Sept. 8 are tied for the second-most in a single game of any Bear since 1992.
HOT START
Casabella's Spanish counterpart Roberto Valera owns the same distinction of winning an NCAA title and being named an All-American in each of his first three years at Cal. Despite missing some time over the last two weeks, Valera still ranks sixth in the MPSF in goals (20) thanks to a red-hot start to the season. He led Cal in goals in three of their first four games, highlighted by an eight-goal outburst against Pepperdine that saw him tie for the third-most goals in a game in MPSF history and went down as the most scored by a Cal player since it's first year in the MPSF in 1992.
NEW ROLES, NEW FACES
With new responsibilities and opportunities up for grabs among Cal's talented group of returners and newcomers, multiple Bears have made their presence known over their first 12 outings.
Redshirt junior Bende Pardi ranks third on the team with 14 goals and freshman Maddox Arlett trails right behind him with 13 goals. Center George Avakian sits third in the MPSF with 26 earned exclusions, ranks fourth with five field blocks, and is fifth on his squad with 11 goals. Avakian's season high of seven earned exclusions came in the Bears' 20-14 win over then-No. 6 UCI on Sept. 7.
2024 All-America Honorable Mention Ponferrada has been finding his teammates at a high rate, ranking second in the conference in assists (24) and seventh in points (32) while contributing defensively with five field blocks.
THE STAFF
Kirk Everist was named ACWPC National Coach of the Year for the fifth time last season after winning his sixth NCAA Championship as the Bears' head coach and eighth overall with the program. The USA Water Polo Hall of Famer enters his 23rd season at the helm of the program with an all-time coaching record of 468-138 (.772).
Joining Everist on the staff are third-year assistant coach Jakov Belamaric and former Golden Bear player Iosefa Tuiasau. Tuiasau – who played for Everist from 2009-11 – rejoins the Bears following two successful seasons as an assistant coach at Pacific and a highly successful coaching run in his native New Zealand at the high school, club and international levels. That included serving as an assistant coach for the New Zealand Women's National Team and a stint at Rangitoto College that resulted in numerous trophies.
REPEAT SUCCESS
No men's water polo program has won more national championships than Cal, which claimed its 17th on Dec. 3, 2023, after defeating UCLA 13-11 in the NCAA final. The historic win gave the Bears the distinction of owning three of the four three-peats in NCAA men's water polo history.
STAY POSTED
For further coverage of Cal men's water polo, follow the Bears on Twitter (@CalWaterPolo) and Instagram (@calmwaterpolo).
